Genesis

The exhibition Genesis by Ahmed Al-Nawas and Minna Henriksson offers a different perspective on the origin of Mänttä’s paper industry than the one manifested by the very architecture of the Serlachius Museum Gustaf. In the exhibition the role of the workers is highlighted, as well as the financial and foreign policy motives that guided the actions of the leaders of the Serlachius company.

The Genesis exhibition depicts the founding of the Serlachius company as a collective process rather than the achievement of one man. Along with the management of the mill, the workers as a mass also have contributed, by organising and applying their collective force and through industrial action to achieve their demands.

The main work in the exhibition is a rya rug that Al-Nawas and Henriksson have made by tufting. It consists of ‘images’ from the history of workers’ struggles in Mänttä.

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Order here the book Genesis – A Battle of Values, Parvs & Serlachius Museums 2023

Read here in Finnish how the collaboration with The Serlachius Museums ended