Finland
In the summer of 2019 I participated in a residency near the Kvarken archipelago on the west coast of Finland. The archipelago is slowly rising; once covered by the weight glacial ice, the land was compressed and now due to isostasy is rising and changing the shape of the coastline. In Kristinestad, where I was, the harbour is now too shallow for large boats.
I took mylar and Yupo to use as drawing surfaces but knew I wanted to use local materials to make the drawings and mentioned this at the welcoming event hosted by the townspeople for the artists at the residency. I quickly received black and red currants, a large piece of rusted metal, an offer to go blueberry picking, and a jar of puu terva (pine tar) which is made from the roots of pine trees and is used as weatherproofing for roofs and boats. My materials for these works were made from these local plants and minerals: blueberries, black and red currants, rowan berries, rust, bark, puu terva and falunpunainen (red oxide) made from earth minerals and traditionally used for paintings buildings in the area.
In addition to providing colours, the berries and currants reference the cyclic growing pattern of plants; the falunpunainen and puu terva conjure soil, roots, and trees. The design elements include intertwining patterns, tulip takana and tree patterns derived from historic Finnish textiles and wallpapers; the textiles and wallpapers feature designs based on the natural world. Other drawings reference local architecture: outside fire ladders on houses and fences. In many of the drawings the colour and design elements suggest the archipelago, the rise of land from the sea, the residual memory of the past.
