SÁpmi, Enontekiö, Kilpisjärvi, Saana & Malla
1.-10. September 2018
My main aim for working in the Ars Bioartica Residency in the north-western board of Finland was to stay for a while and continue some earlier started art processes. I live and work in Joensuu in the eastern Finland near the Russian border. The Northern Sami area inspires me with the ancient cultural, historical and nature values. Finally the global climate changing became the top subject during my residency period. Before my travelling I decided to make a photograph serie from landscape, sky in diffenrent lights, water, tundra plants and soil and reindeers. I made a plan to use several kind of matherials to get new ways of seeing `what I ́ll see and meet around me ́ after coming to Kilpisjärvi Village. I knew that my plan maybe is not comig true as photographs ...
I’m a painter and a visual artist. Camera is one of my working tools. The photographs in these sides belongs to the photo serie BASICS 2018, which endly came true in Kilpisjärvi. Very glorious and almoust as a gift were the nice and even deep discussions with ecologist PhD. Virpi Pajunen from Helsinki and Tuusula. She worked couple of weeks with her assistant as aim to gather specimens from tundra pond water and soil in neighbourhood of Kilpisjärvi Lake and Saana Fell.We found many similar interests f.ex. birds, plants, fine art and food! My deep interest from early years is nature in all its’ phenomena. My moms’s mother sow the seed of nature loving into my soul and body while being my nanny. She guided me to understand nature as an environment in which I have my place as Animals and Plants have theirs. I thank her! And I thank for Virpi for sharing ideas and thoughts. As well a nice thank for artist-researcher Leena Valkeapää for her friendship, care and our inspiring discussions! The Kilpisjärvi Biological Station I thank for help and host and for the possibility to make true my POP-UP photograph exhibition `SUNDAYS PREMIERES 2007-2017 ́ (people in their surroundings in big cities).
In BASICS I handle basic colors (red, blue, yellow), shapes, lines, white-grey-black and optical phenomena, chiaroscuro, perspective and rhythms. The starting point is the landscape, the surface of fells, the variations of lights and visualized sound scenery.
The climate warming as global anxiety means me deep sorrow which can be seen in photographs in dark colour touch and mysterious shapes or mythological figures. In Sami and as well in Finnish cultural history includes very rich matherial of different kind of myths’ expressions. A Myth can be an aesthetic shape, a story or a rythm, a concrete act, something one don’t need or cannotexpress in other way. The myths use methaforical language.
I believe that in art another way of seeing, expressing or thinking use rather similar mental prosesses as the myhts in anscient history. In other side unconscious and spiritual can be seen asa part of arts’ and myths’ basis.
More about me and my artistic work: www.kuvataiteilijamatrikkeli.fi (both English and Finnish version).