The Simulacrum of Apples

Pip and Finn (In collaboration with Clare Gallagher )

Jokamiehenoikeus

The German

Inside, Out

Domestic Exterior (In collaboration with Nathalie Belayche)

Fungal Light

Tampere Seating

Structure (Voipaala)

Lookout (Lake Pyhäjärvi)

Terhi

Triangulating (In collaboration with the Valkeakoski Youth Art School)

Penciling (In collaboration with the Valkeakoski Youth Art School)

Children’s Work

Mushroom Map (In collaboration with Zoe Beausire)

Concentrate to the quiet-Artist Statement

I spent 5 weeks in the Nordic countries of Sweden and Finland during the summer of 2013. A majority of my time was spent in Finland as part of the Backlight Photography Festival artist residency. The other participants included artists from Belfast, Berlin, and a curator from Paris.

The residency was atypical in the sense that we convened together to dialogue and co-develop the theme of trust for the 2014 Backlight Festival. As a hybrid residency, we lived together for several weeks at the Voipaala Art Center, working, meeting, and playing together. In addition, we traveled to Helsinki and Tampere to meet with arts organizations, attend exhibitions, and learn from Finnish artists and cultural workers.

The title for Concentrate to the Quiet came from a presentation by a board member of Backlight, who stated that Voipaala was an ideal place to “concentrate to the quiet.” This sentence resonated with me personally, particularly in regards to my interest in mindfulness. The quote also aptly describes a primary aesthetic of Voipaala and perhaps Suomâ in general.

Concentrate to the Quiet is composed of color portraits, landscapes, and still lives. It also includes temporal sculptures and founds objects expressed as photographs. The photographs are informed by Scandinavia/Nordic aesthetics including light, design, quality of craft, and simplicity. There is a formal play in the work.  The play manifests itself in several ways including color and light, which developed from both the observation of natural light and the mixing of artificial (flash) with available light.

The freedom to roam and related rights are called “jokamiehenoikeus” in Finnish and “allemansrätten” in Swedish, which translates as “every man’s rights”. In Finland, everyone may walk, ski or cycle freely in the countryside where this does not harm the natural environment or the landowner.  I spent a good portion of my time in Voipaala and environs roaming and photographing in the country side.

Above images:  A photo of my parents, circa late 1960’s in Oregon.

Being a US citizen of Nordic decent, I felt an uncanny familiarity with the unfamiliar. The residency was also a contemplative time, as my grandmother passed away in Oregon while I was abroad. These photographs reflect my desire to boldly connect and experience the people and places of Scandinavia.

Los Angeles opening at Spot Photo Works,  Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, August, 2014.

 Click on the link to download the exhibition catalog (pdf, 14 mb): Concentrate_to_the_Quiet

“What these artists aim for in their works is not to accumulate heterogeneous elements, but to make meaningful connections in the infinite text of world culture. In a word, to produce itineraries in the landscape by signs taking on the role of semionauts, inventors of pathways within the cultural landscape, nomadic sign gatherers.”-Nicolas Bourriaud,  The Radicant