The Mycelium Signal Presents:

”Furies”

An Interview with Väkevä Voima and Bathory Legion

Editor’s Introduction

I visited your joint exhibition’s opening at Helsinki’s Laterna Magica on July 22nd 2025. The show featured urban exploration photographs taken beneath the Roman Colosseum by Bathory Legion alongside glass artifacts and paintings by Väkevä Voima.

Bathory Legion is a photographer, multimedia artist, composer and gallerist from Rome, Italy whose photographs revealed cavernous spaces textured with mycelium-like red formations, which seemed to evoke the post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us with its walls covered in fleshy, alien-like mycelial membranes.

Väkevä Voima is a glass artist and painter from Southern Finland whose paintings and glass art, most created specifically for this occasion, were dominated by red with touches of green and yellow. Upon entering the gallery, I was immediately mesmerized by one particular painting on a black canvas. It appeared to feature three amorphous entities: a human-animal hybrid, a priestess-like figure around a sacred fire, and additional amorphous background entities seemingly reaching toward the sky—all rendered in a fever-dream aesthetic. Their heads seemed to emit numinous white starlight.

What follows is an interview with the artists.

Joint Questions for Väkevä Voima and Bathory Legion

How did you both come together for this joint exhibition at Laterna Magica?

Väkevä Voima: We have known each other for some time already, and during the early spring 2025 we were talking and the subject of art exhibitions came up. I started having exhibitions at the end of last year (2024), and Bathory Legion mentioned they have always been interested in having an art exhibition in Laterna Magica.

I then did a bit of investigation and noticed that applying there to have an exhibition was possible. After that we discussed with Bathory Legion and came to the conclusion that we’d apply for a joint exhibition and everything flowed quite naturally from that point onwards.

Bathory Legion: I had the pleasure of meeting Väkevä Voima through my, now closed, Finnish record label [The Sinister Flame]. She liked my music and some entire releases, and so over the years we started a correspondence on other topics as well. As for me, I had wanted to do an exhibition at Laterna Magica for years, and when the opportunity arose again I told her: ’what do you think, would you like to do this exhibition together?’

How do you perceive the Genius Loci phenomenon in the Finnish/Northern context, as compared to the Roman one?

Bathory Legion: As you well know, the Genius Loci is a concept from Roman antiquity, later extended to the whole world. When I am in Nordic contexts I always tend to try to distinguish between the two. Just as in Rome, in order to enjoy certain energies you have to go to very specific contexts and at certain times, so, I have to say the truth, in Helsinki this time I didn’t feel anything at all, my visit didn’t go as I expected, despite some definitely positive/interesting aspects.

However, I understand what you mean, and it certainly depends a lot on the people. The spirit of the place, the genius loci in fact, is also partly ”activated” by the people present at that moment. It’s a very long speech ahaha…

Väkevä Voima: I think the concept is present in both and is probably a universal one. Since Genius Loci can mean either the spirit of a place or the guardian spirits that inhabit certain places, I’ll comment on both.

Regarding the spirit of the place, Rome, being an ancient city where many of the important places throughout centuries have survived until the modern times, sure is a horn on plenty. I could mention a few places related to our Furie exhibition, where the spirit of the place is strong: Colosseum, the symbol of Rome, and the biggest amphitheater built in ancient times and used for a variety of purposes from educational shows to executions. The catacombs, as burial sites and places of worship, with their underground scent and danger. And, of course the Janiculum Hill which has both spectacular views to Rome but also a long esoteric history of god and goddess worship, and there especially Lucus Furrinae sanctuary ruins, which intrigue me personally. All this and more in a city, and many of the places known around the globe.

In Finland the situation is different. Our spirit of the place, based on my experience, is mostly found in nature. From practical experience, I find it often on hills, such as Pisamalahden linnavuori in Sulkava. Also in ravines inside a deep forest, or places where the ice age has left its marks, and in waters that feel like home to me. Trees are also important, there are places where a tree grows very different from anything surrounding it, which generates a unique spirit of the place.

I am very fond of certain places where I connect to, and in general I feel that people should remain in the places (or near the places) their family is from, because of the relationship to the land they walk upon. We don’t really have ancient buildings, and I’d assume the oldest buildings in Finland are churches, which are not interesting to me personally, and I think strongest spirits of the place I have felt are in ateliers of Finnish artists from the golden age of Finnish art.

When it comes to the guardian spirits of places or buildings, I think in Rome there is plenty of documentation and evidence of Genius Loci, and the ones in power during different times (earlier) have also kept beliefs alive and have spread practices outside of Rome / Italy. It was common that spirits guarded homes, temples and cities, and their symbol was for example a snake, which represented protection.

In Finland these kinds of things are not so visible, documented, studied, or even known, but we do have a strong pagan tradition where spirits of different kinds have been interacted with and worshipped, again mostly in nature. But, let’s not forget the sauna, and the spirit living there, that is unique in our culture.

What is your relationship to sacred fire, the natural world (including animals and plant life), and entities or daemons that exist beyond consensus reality? How do these elements manifest in your artistic practice, and do you see them as interconnected forces in your creative process? Do you work with these presences directly, or do they emerge spontaneously in your art?

Bathory Legion: In my case it takes place almost exclusively within the ancient Roman undergrounds, catacombs, ancient excavations, to which I have dedicated a long part of my life. I lived four years alone in the mountains in the north of Italy and, in my case, I did not feel the same kind of power and energy.

Do you see yourselves as interpreters of hidden realms as artists?

Bathory Legion: Yes, indeed, and not only as artist, but in every aspects of my life

Väkevä Voima: Yes, I see both of us like that, and I think for both of us something hidden becomes visible through our art even though our method of expression is different. For someone who is not interested, or not willing to do necessary work, many things fly under the radar and remain hidden, but if there is the right kind of individual with a willingness to commit, I feel then things that have been invisible before become visible, and understanding of the world expands when that connection comes to being.

This means that our art has aspects and atmosphere that can be recognized by individuals that have also visited similar realms, at least based on the feedback I have gotten, it seems to be so.

Do you view yourselves as visionary artists? Where do you draw your inspiration?

Bathory Legion: The inspiration comes from my belonging also as a musician to the black metal of the 90s when it still called itself a movement and all the occult background that goes with it. From the extreme experiences of my life, which I won’t list because now thanks to algorithms you can’t write anything anymore, and from overcoming the ordinances

Väkevä Voima: My source of inspiration is always darkness, if only one word would be used to define it. I don’t view myself as a visionary artist, but it is mostly since I don’t really view myself as anything specific, I think humans often have the need to label things, but I try to avoid it.

The reason for this is that my art is very much tied to my way of living: solitary nights in nature, experiences flowing through me onto the canvas or to the bottom of my glass kiln. My art can’t exist without darkness. I have already seen how my skills and my art change during time, and I expect both to continue evolving in the future as well.

Can you explain the Roman Furies featured in the exhibition’s title? What invokes fury into your art?

Väkevä Voima: Furies, goddesses of vengeance, pursue and punish people that deserve to be punished, according to mythology. They could be prayed upon, and they could bring justice for wrongs committed. In addition to Furies, goddess Furrina, whose sacred grove Lucus Furrinae located in Janiculum Hill in Rome, was worshipped, and their relation is not 100 % confirmed, but could be of similar origin or related to each other.

The Lucus Furrinae grove was first sacred to Furrina, at least until around 500 BCE. After that Syrian cults coexisted with the Roman, and the sanctuary was expanded. When it was abandoned in late fourth or early fifth century CE, it already had a basilica and an altar. Excavations have been carried out at the site and artifacts have been found there. These two things were the main inspiration for me in our exhibition Furie.

Regarding invoking fury: One that has fire burning within most likely has fury too, and it can be a quality used in a destructive or constructive way. I use my fury to get things done, focusing on what is essential. In practice I spend a lot of time making art even though I am not a full-time artist. Hundreds of hours per year on top of everything else. Fury also reminds me not to abandon my ideals. I think, to be able to express fury in art, a person must have fury within themselves.

Bathory Legion: When I thought of the concept for the exhibition, I wanted it to be about a Rome – Helsinki connection. I wanted a complex concept with various ramifications. Therefore I thought about when I visited the Finnish institute in Rome [Institutum Romanum Finlandiae], where the Finnish embassy is also located. This 16th century palace is called ”Villa Lante”.

Also in the area adjacent to the Janiculum Hill in Rome, there is a small and ancient ”sacred forest” [Lucus Furrinae] dedicated to Furrina, a very ancient deity associated with life and death, magic, healing potions, the interrogation of the dead, And groundwater too, among other things. ”Deity” whose anniversary falls on 25 July [Furrinalia], and the dates of our exhibition between 21 July and 9 August.

Furrina was finally assimilated to the Furies by assonance of name, connected to the verb ”furere” which alluded to fury. However, her sacred triangle reveals her as Goddess Ctonia, i.e. of the depths of Hades, the ancient Triune Goddess who gives life, nourishment and death.

Regarding the ”Furie”, Furies, the iconography is that of winged women running relentlessly after their victims, hunters armed with serpents, punishing Goddesses, Goddesses of curse and revenge, which took place with wars, plagues, discord and instilling remorse.

Combining all these concepts, I decided to photograph, especially for the exhibition, a water source inside a basement in the Colosseum area, whose name I would like to keep secret.

Individual Questions for Väkevä Voima

What is your relationship to sacred fire, the natural world (including animals and plant life), and entities or daemons that exist beyond consensus reality? How do these elements manifest in your artistic practice, and do you see them as interconnected forces in your creative process? Do you work with these presences directly, or do they emerge spontaneously in your art?

Väkevä Voima: The question is very wide and deep, so I shall respond to the question how I see it going in my case. I don’t want to go into exact details since it is very personal. On a higher level I can say that I feel I have connected with entities which do not reside in our visible world, and I have been tormented by them. I have had to prove myself over and over again, and this has impacted me in many ways, which I am grateful for.

Nowadays I feel I’ve gained some kind of acceptance, if that word can be used in this context. I feel the connection that exists and I think me being an artist is directly because of that, and I have permission to continue pursuing my destiny. What I encounter impacts my art always, up to the point where I can feel strongly guided in creating art.

In the exhibition there was a note that said you also studied the Janiculum area in Rome through research papers, articles, and pictures, after which the presented art came to life through pathworking. Can you elaborate on this process?

Väkevä Voima: Sure, for me it has been an interesting experience. I started making art for the Furie exhibition in early summer 2025. I wasn’t able to visit Rome during this time, so I had quite the different method of working than Bathory Legion, who lives there and is able to actually visit places of importance personally.

So, I did what was possible for me: I read all the materials Bathory Legion sent to me regarding our subject, and in addition did plenty of research myself, so that I was able to create a kind of a map of the subject in my head. For me it is possible to both memorize things but also visualize them, I can for example walk around certain places in my mind, feel them, and at the same time I see facts and stories of the place with the eyes of my mind.

So, when I was in my atelier making art, I incorporated what I had learned, the thought and the spirit of Furie, to my way of painting and preparing glass items. I feel it worked quite well. I was able to enrich my pieces with the selected theme without it feeling like a copy of something that already exists. Pieces came out strong and captivating, at least in my own opinion. And for me that is important since I do not display art I am not happy with.

How do you view amorphism in your work?

Väkevä Voima: I love words, and I sometimes dwell in them. Amorphism came to be the core of my art since it is one word that I can bend to describe both my mediums: glass and paint. Glass is an amorphous material, it is solid but does not have long range crystalline order at the molecular level. Of course this also impacts how glass behaves when fused in a kiln.

In painting I consider amorphism to mean something that captivates in a unique way. And in general art that doesn’t have to be according to any norms or standards. I feel my art doesn’t have to ”feel good” by all, instead it needs to feel correct to me. If I have a solo exhibition, I call it ”Amorfia” in Finnish, and in the exhibition the art pieces change during time. This also goes well with the term in my opinion.

You also mentioned that your part of the exhibition is about macrocosm and microcosm, emerging and disappearance, where the impact of the Goddesses is visible either directly or indirectly as subtly hinted in one artwork where hands of the Furies apparently grasp the city’s night silhouette’s buildings and its inhabitants. Please elaborate.

Väkevä Voima: When we selected Furie as our exhibition theme, I wanted to pour the spirit of the Furies, the spirit of vengeance and punishment, into my art, but not so that it would be obvious and too easy. Personally I have been studying macrocosm and microcosm in practice for a long time intentionally, and I have trained to notice change and impact both in the world and in myself, and I tied this capability with the Furie theme, as they are goddesses dealing with humans.

In the painting you are referring to there is sunset, night covers Rome, and the Furies appear to hunt the cursed ones from the safety of their homes. Human-made obstacles don’t hold back Goddesses, light can’t banish them, there is nowhere to hide. This painting was one where the Furies were visible in action.

In the exhibition, I noticed more and more details in your paintings that I seemed to miss at first glance. I found this ”occultum” effect quite fascinating. Can you describe how you achieve this and is it even deliberate?

Väkevä Voima: I remember we discussed this in the exhibition a bit, and I enjoy the fact that you were able to dive into my art in that manner even though the place was full of people. I feel my art is not made for quick viewing, it is made to be explored and felt; the same way I explore and feel it when making it. And in that moment the details matter, and I have the patience to work with my art for any time needed until it is finished.

Sometimes those details arrive as given, and sometimes I have more control over them, but I never plan them in advance, I just feel that certain things need to be added and I do the necessary additions. These details are often added last, and they complete the art piece, in my opinion.

Interestingly, there are also situations where an idea of a detail forms in my mind, but something tells me not to add it. During the years I have learned how to listen to those feelings and voices, and how to select whose guidance to follow.

 

How do you view the Numinous, and more specifically its dual nature of horror and beauty?

Väkevä Voima: It is essential. It is piercing. In moments when such is encountered, I often feel joy and a sensation of being full of energy afterwards. Those moments have an influence on me, which I definitely value, and I hope I could also pass those on through my art. On several occasions I have come to understand what are the next steps I should take regarding some matter that has been troubling me in my life. There is a strong aspect of guidance, and I also hear my own thoughts well. Essential part of the journey.

Individual Questions for Bathory Legion

I understand this wasn’t your first trip to Finland. Your musical project Bathory Legion was released on Finnish label Sinister Flame’s subdivision, Septenary Arts. Can you tell us about that connection?

Bathory Legion: Yes, I was in a moment of enormous personal crisis, on the verge of death, and I thought either I will find the best record label, 100% dedicated to certain topics, or I will end Bathory Legion. I never knew if I found them, or if they found me. Over time, and to this day, the owner of the label has been an inexhaustible source of mutual esteem, and a personal inspiration to me that goes far beyond the musical and artistic aspect.

[bathorylegion.com]

What drew you personally to underground/urban exploration and chthonic themes? Also you are a founding member of Galleria Astrolabio and have actively organized exhibitions for many Italian and international artists over the years. I gathered that some of the exhibitions were actually in the ancient Roman catacombs, right?

Bathory Legion: Having been born in the centre of Rome, or rather where Rome was founded, from the first breath I took I had inputs about the underground and the Chthonic world, at school, on organised ”school trips”, or simply walking around I was immersed in this ”other” reality that was much more fascinating than the surface one. Obviously it was then up to me to delve deeper, also thanks to Esoteric studies back in the 90s, and this then turned from an interest into a passion, until it became an integral part of my daily life.

Absolutely, as I said taking all aspects of my life, it involved music, artistic photography, and also my art gallery which has been exclusively itinerant for years now. Yes I have organised and will organise exhibitions also in ancient vaults, anti-aircraft bunkers and ancient catacombs [galleriaastrolabio.com]

I think I was a pioneer of ”Urbex” photography in Rome almost 25 years ago, when I didn’t even know this term, and I don’t mean that of ancient undergrounds, catacombs and crypts (those, as I said, belonged to me at an early age), but of urban exploration in this case, and as usual this was not understood. People couldn’t understand what I found so ”important” in subways, and tunnels, and disused basements, and abandoned buildings full of rust, mold, writing made by junkies, rats.

And I was trying to explain ”them” that the decaying energies of those places, especially at night, were impressive. Obviously, years later the affair became mainstream, due to television programmes on international broadcasters, like everything else, and now ”healthy and safe” picnics with home-made omelette sandwiches have been organised for years by quasi-boy scouts in short trousers and whistles, in nefarious places, to give the mundane the ”thrill” of danger, strictly in sheep-like masses and ”safe”.

Because of all this, and also because I have partly exhausted the concept, for some years now I have been devoting myself to liminal spaces.

BL Photography – From ”Placeless” 2012 serie – Urbex [an appendix of the abandoned part of the Forlanini hospital in Rome, now cemented by the authorities]

Few people know that the Finnish Embassy and Finnish Institute in Villa Lante in Rome are located in the Gianicolo area, which has a long esoteric history. The area houses the remains of the Lucus Furrinae sanctuary, among other things. What was Lucus Furrinae originally, and is it perhaps related to the Furies?

Bathory Legion: Yes, as I said in the first part of the interview. 😉

For those interested, more information is available here.

BL Photography – From ”Furie” 2025 serie

Bathory Legion: Thanks a lot for the interview and support!