AARK – Archipelago Art Residency

At the beginning of August I travelled to Korppoo. It is an island in the Turku Archipelago. AARK residency is right by the sea, with a view not only to the sea but also to the ferry, carrying cars between Korppoo and Nauvo islands. The time is not measured by a clock but by the ferry. And when the ferry comes, it comes with a wave of cars flushing through the island. And between these waves there is complete silence, soon filled with sounds of the nature. In Korppoo, the nature comes really close, as if it were holding you in its arms. And in those arms you find all the time in the world to think, read and sketch. Or just to look around and be amazed.

I also took a ferry to Utö island, which is the most southern inhabited part of Finland. The island is so small that when you climbed on top of it, you could see water everywhere you turned. The sky and the sea were deep blue and the rocks were amazing with all the colours you could and couldn’t imagine.

In the last morning of my residency I woke up early to watch the sunrise. The sky was filled with colours just like the ones in my paintings. Then I saw a cruise ship slowly float by in the horizon. It was lit so beautfully, it shone like a diamond through the morning mist. I took it as a good sign, since my upcoming exhibition is called Loveboat. It felt like the island was saying goodbye in a magical way.