Gifts from the Sentient Forest
Communication & Collaboration Between People & Trees in Northern Finland

Photo Credit: Francis Joy

 

Francis Joy's complete  Introduction to Pareidolia  can be downloaded as a PDF here.

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In studies of trees and other types of natural phenomena, there is a phenomenon called pareidolia in which people perceive images of faces that help stimulate the imagination. The term pareidolia is defined as “the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous pattern.” By contrast, the Collins English Dictionary defines the term as “the imagined­ perception of a pattern or meaning where it does not actually exist, as in considering the moon to have human features.”

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Snow and ice that forms on trees can contribute to pareidolia. But what about images that form naturally from snow and ice on the ground? Are we to assign the concept of pareidolia to snow and ice that are temporary whereas, on trees, images tend to be more permanent? Indeed, these are interesting questions.

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In fact, pareidolia can be ascribed to multiple contexts, such as faces in clouds, foods, plants, flowers, mountains, and stones as well as markings on horses, cows, and other animals. Driftwood that has been fashioned by sea water into a face or other form is another example of pareidolia.

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On photographing the forms of snow and ice on trees that resemble human, animal and other entities, the question occurred to me as to whether pareidolia has been in the past and present linked to animism and, thus, spiritual traditions in any way. Indeed, we know that natural faces are discernible in sacred mountains and  old trees considered shrines.

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Although snow and ice are usually white, some is blackened by carbon, debris, soil, and dirt. I have noticed how these color variations are important elements because they play an important role in the formation of forms, for example, of heads and facial features

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Pareidolia recurs in the Arctic areas in Finland as well as farther south to Oulu, a large city on the north-west coast of the country. These forms encourage a deeper understanding of nature in the Arctic. Some of these forms are location specific and connected to the winter cycles in the Arctic. Understanding these helps bring forth new ideas about trees, snow, and ice as imaginaries of value to human relations with the environment. Forms created naturally on the ground from snow and ice within forests and woodlands provide an interesting experience for  winter trekkers in Finland.

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