The artwork Hulda & Lilli (2023) examines empathy through storytelling. The work is an inventive human experiment, which aims to draw out an emotional reaction and encourages viewers to probe into the making of their feelings. The immersive installation offers two paths with different perspectives – who or what will you empathize with? In the work, anthropomorphism – seeing human-like features in other animals and beings – is calculated, and the visitors might be led astray at a first glance.

The artwork premiered at Maija Tammi’s solo exhibition Empathy Machine at The Finnish Museum of Photography, in Helsinki, Finland, March 2023. Hulda & Lilli is also an art book by Kult Books. The installation has since been shown at MU Hybrid Art house in Eindhoven, the Netherlands in July 2024, and the next exhibition will be at Photo Museum Ireland in November 2025.

Installation image, MU Hybrid Art House, 2024.
Installation image, MU Hybrid Art House, July 2024. Photograph by MU/Hanneke Wetzer.
Installation image, MU Hybrid Art House, 2024. Photograph by MU/Hanneke Wetzer.
Installation image, MU Hybrid Art House, 2024. Photograph by MU/Hanneke Wetzer.
Installation image. Hulda & Lilli, Empathy Machine, The Finnish Museum of Photography, March 30 – August 27, 2023. Photograph: Angel Gil.
Installation image. Empathy Machine, The Finnish Museum of Photography, March 30 – August 27, 2023. Photograph: Angel Gil.
Detail of the artwork Hulda & Lilli, 2023.
Detail of the artwork Hulda & Lilli, 2023.
Installation image. Hulda & Lilli, Empathy Machine, The Finnish Museum of Photography, March 30 – August 27, 2023. Photograph: Angel Gil.
Installation image. Hulda & Lilli, Empathy Machine, The Finnish Museum of Photography, March 30 – August 27, 2023. Photograph: Angel Gil.
Installation image. Hulda & Lilli, Empathy Machine, The Finnish Museum of Photography, March 30 – August 27, 2023. Photograph: Angel Gil.
Installation image. Hulda & Lilli, Empathy Machine, The Finnish Museum of Photography, March 30 – August 27, 2023.
A sample of the English feedback notes.

The research of the artwork was graciously helped by Doctor of Arts Kristiina Koskinen, Doctor Marius Vollberg, specialized in psychology and neuroscience, and Doctor, biologist Joni Ollonen.

The debriefing room of the artwork includes interviews: Imagination feeds empathy (Vollberg), Nature documentaries record culture (Koskinen), Chameleon is a party animal / Migratory locusts are the Jekylls and Hydesof the insect world (Ollonen), and a discussion Is Art Supposed to Feel Like Something? between curator Tiina Rauhala and Maija Tammi, and essay Fabulator of the Liminal by writer, curator Ariane Koek.