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- ‘Fresh Off the Boat’
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- ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Blue’
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- ‘Swans of Vuosaari’
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- ‘Churchill’s Birds’
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- ‘Blue Mondays’
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- Gallery view
These are the five works that I made for the Helsinki International Artists’ Association (HIAA) exhibition ‘Dear Suomi’. The images need to be looked at larger online to see the details under all the layers. I made a statement below about the work, hopefully it gives a little insight into my thoughts behind these works.
‘I am British and living in Finland. I was brought up in Staffordshire in England which is known for it’s production of blue and white porcelain.
The images used to decorate porcelain in Staffordshire were often influenced by cultures from around the world; images that have been taken out of context and have adopted new meaning. I have incorporated images from Staffordshire porcelain into these drawings. I have also incorporated influences from Finnish porcelain and some of my own memories and motifs into the drawings.
As an immigrant from a country with a colonialist history I want to explore my relationship with Finland and how I have been influenced by Finnish culture.
The expressive painterly marks are used in juxtaposition to the illustrative drawing to convey a sense of energy, struggle and life.
Blue and white also has obvious connections with Finland and the Finnish flag.’
Thanks to the curator Hanna Kress, all the artists at HIAA (special thanks to Kemê Pellicer for getting the initial process started), Helsingin Taiteilijaseura and Galleria Rantakasarmi.
