Iida Valmé

About the Artist

Iida Valmé (b.1999) is a Finnish Haitian American multidisciplinary artist currently based in Helsinki. Their practice, rooted in love and ancestral remembrance, is an expression of homage to their ancestors, a declaration of love to those whose ancestor they will one day be. Drawing power from community, nature, intuition, and the spiritual realm, Valmé creates work that moves through the past, present, and becoming. 

About the artwork

Juurimatka / Root Voyage is an installation comprising of various sculptural and audiovisual elements. Sculptures made from Beninese Khaya senegalensis mahogany and North Karelian pine combine to create a triangular space for commune. It is here where beings from the living, ancestral, and spiritual realms can come together to rest. 

A vèvè is overlaid by two branches: one of Beninese origin, one of Finnish. At the apex, a video is projected onto a floating canvas. The space within and around the installation is filled with sound. Its vibration speaks to the soul. Can you feel it?

The piece explores themes of roots and unrooting, ancestry, origin, displacement, return, and ascension into realms beyond what is seen. Much like roots growing deep underground, just because something cannot be perceived by the eye does not make it any less real.