Project Babel

14.1.2023-14.1.2024

The Project Babel will be exhibited in Galleria Ratamo in Jyväskylä, Finland. The opening will be in the 13th of Dec at 5pm-7pm. In the exhibition, information of all the participating studios will be presented as well. 

Team Babel launched in autumn 2022 "Project Babel", a collaborative project inviting international printmakers and print studios.  

Project Babel is an international collaborative printmaking project. 335 printmakers in 40 studios from 19 countries are creating together an artwork, that is based on the painting “The Great Tower of Babel” (1563) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

The idea of the project has been to share the original image of the tower into segments. Each participant has got one segment (chosen by lottery) and created their own version using different printmaking techniques. In the end, all the works will be gathered as a new tower. The size of the work of one artist is 13x17cm, and the final work will be approximately 245cm x 335cm.

The Idea of Project Babel

The goal of Project Babel has been to gather printmakers from all over the world together to create new connections between studios. Collaboration enables artwork made by using multiple printmaking techniques and styles. The process is interesting in its unpredictability; the result will emerge only when we gather all the segments, and it will differ from the original in many interesting ways. 

The ability to collaborate is an essential human characteristic. The original story to which Bruegel referred, indicates a human striving to create and to cooperate. We feel this striving for cooperation forms an interesting context with regards to the present moment. 

Ratamo Babelin torni

 The Great Tower of Babel (1563) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Team Babel

Team Babel

Team Babel consists of four printmakers working at Ratamo printmaking studio. All team members are active longtime artists of the studio, and they have collaborated together in different projects and exhibitions. The idea of the project was born in one of their many coffee break conversations.

Anni Huttu is a self-taught printmaker, who has gained her knowledge from many different sources. Her emphasis is on drypoint. Annis art is often described as Kafkaesque. Her works combine storytelling with psychological intensity. In her works there are often seen animal and human figures and elements from nature.

Kaisa Koljonen is a professional visual artist specialized in printmaking, but she also does drawing and painting. Her emphasis is on intaglio, mixing line-etching, drypoint, mezzotint and aquatint. Her works are a unique mixture of surreal, abstract and symbolic elements. She combines esthetics from organic nature and human anatomy, to create archetypal images that have psychological and esoteric touch.

Maria Pihl is a professional visual artist, who has specialized in reduction woodcut. Maria has great skill of layering colors in her works, which are usually big and colorful. The materials she uses are important to her, like different kinds of handmade papers she uses for printing. Marias works get inspiration from her mental and spiritual life, stories of different religions, myths and tales and also nature. In her works are often seen human forms and animal figures and also different kinds of plants. The elements of her works have symbolic meanings, both universal and personal.

Naoji Ishiyama is a Japanese-born professional artist, who has a long career in printmaking. He moved to Jyväskylä Finland in 2003 and started working as a technician at printmaking studio Ratamo, while working there also as a free artist. He works mainly on drypoint, and has developed a  method, which allows him to use a wide range of gray-scale rich in nuances, with an astounding emphasis on detail. The imagery of his works contain objects he finds personally interesting, including natural forms like unique trees and stones and also man-made objects and constructions.