“Enchanted by Klovharun – On the Island of Tove and Tuulikki”

Tove Jansson donated the cottage to the Pellinge Hembygdsförening association in 1991. The association rents the cottage out as an artist residence, which artists Erika Adamsson (b. 1973) and Katja Syrjä (b. 1973) have visited for several years to appreciate its unique nature and cultural heritage while also realising their artistic work. Klovharun and the islets and skerries around it are part of a nature reserve. The interior of the cottage exudes the atmosphere of the 1960s and 70s, as if Jansson and Pietilä had only just recently departed.

The emphasis of the exhibition is on a new artistic production realised specifically for the exhibition by Erika Adamsson and Katja Syrjä. Katja Syrjä’s works focus on nature, while Erika Adamsson examines the dialogue between the interior of the cottage and the lives lived in it. The exhibition showcases some of Tove Jansson’s few sea-themed paintings and Tuulikki Pietilä’s prints that depict Klovharun. The photographs taken by Adamsson and Syrjä provide a comprehensive view into the working life of the artists on a distant outer island in the Baltic Sea.

You can watch Adamsson and Syrjä working on the island in the documentary video Studio visit Chappe, which was filmed in August 2025. The video documents the artists’ work process, in which examining the location and spending time onsite form an integral part of the realisation of the artworks using different materials and techniques.

The public programme includes expert talks and a workshop held on Tove Jansson’s birthday in August 2026.

In connection with the exhibition, a book will be published, with an article by nonfiction writer Sanna Nyqvist, Docent in Comparative Literature. Nyqvist’s essay follows the creation of scenery, memories, and observations, as well as the connections between them as Erika Adamsson and Katja Syrjä prepare their works for the exhibition.

Exhibition concept and curator: Chappe’s Chief Curator Pia Hovi.

In co-operation with: Moomin Characters Oy Ltd., Pellinge Hembygdsförening rf, Albert de la Chapelles Konststiftelse.