Eemil Karila’s latest exhibition, The Simple Sense of Existence, is in the artist’s own words, “a post-human manifestation, an ensemble of works that I hope will encourage us to see and respect the nature around us, to forget ourselves and abandon our human-centric worldview.”

The artist has been on the lookout for nature that still persists in urban spaces. With the world on the verge of ecological disaster, perceptions are shifting to a new sensibility towards nature, its beauty and presence, things we all too often take for granted. Karila’s paintings include wild flowers that have grown in stretches of wasteland, overgrown backyards and other desolate areas. The artists works are a reminder of the importance of nature on a small-scale, an ode to natura minora. First and foremost it is a romantic notion, yet is also an ethical requirement for mankind.

There is a way to reverse our present collision course with environmental catastrophe.

Paintings that depict plants typically serve as an allegory that speaks to issues beyond what is immediately apparent. Karila’s landscapes allow him to show how nature is a part of our world and that we can treat it well. He believes that contemporary art addresses not only aesthetic, but also moral and philosophical issues. Life, the world and art must not be separated; rather they can be lived and experienced as a whole. The artist reminds us of the importance to look deeper and zoom in on the essence of our existence.

Karila paints directly on thick uncoated linen. The process resembles making a fresco, where all the paint and pigments are sucked in, making the act of painting a slow process but one that accentuates the intensity of the pigments. Karila also draws with thick oil bars on the ink-soaked canvases, which creates a vivid surface. The slowness of his working process fits the depiction of nature well, as nature runs on a schedule of its own.
