Merja Aletta Ranttila

Merja Aletta Ranttila, renowned Finnish artist, lives and works in Lapland (Inari) and exhibits in Finland and abroad. Her works depict strong women, raw nature, and stories about the mysteries of life in the arctic north. Born in 1960 in Karigasniemi in Lapland in a Sami family of five children, Merja Aletta began in 1980 her studies at the Lapland art school in Tornio then at the Rovaniemi Arts and Crafts College, studying graphic design from 1982 to 1986. At the beginning of her career, Merja Aletta Ranttila illustrated textbooks, children's books, novels and short stories. Ranttila was specially commissioned to produce illustrations on Sami themes. She found her own artistic expression in the early 1990s by starting to use lino. This technique allows him to create original works on stylized white and black silhouettes by completing these prints with colored touches of screen printing ink. Merja Aletta's works are known for their symbolism and often repeat evil and female characters. Her many self-portraits reflect the difficulties of her personal life: boarding school life in a harsh arctic climate, the intimidation of the narrow-minded Lestadian sectarian culture left a deep mark on the growing young woman. Ranttila's public breakthrough came in 1993, when her work was shown at the Aine Art Museum as part of the Shaman Summer Triennial Art Exhibition in Tornio - Lapland. The devils who haunted the painful female figures being disapproved by the ecclesiastics of northern Finland, the artist was accused of Satanism and shamanism. After the dismal work of her early years, Merja Aletta Ranttila began to use lighter tones, but - even then - there remains a dark shadow in the background. His art also displays humorous and playful characteristics. The artist's many self-portraits reflect Ranttila's introspection.