2024.6
Residency at Archipelago Art Residency in Korpo, Finland
On the second evening after dinner, I walked onto the yellow ferry and asked the person who remote-controlled the traffic lights about ferry schedule. He showed me the Finferries App and asked me what kind of art I do. I said I walk around and ask questions. This forecasts my life here (and highly likely the rest of my life).
In the first week, a fellow artist Gill showed me two labyrinths in Korpo and Nauvo. For the first time I learned that a labyrinth is not a maze. In a maze, you try to find your way out and might get lost in dead ends, but in a labyrinth, there is only one way, which leads to the center, and you walk out the same way. After my first labyrinth walk, Gill asked what was on my mind. I said “no destination” - another synopsis of my life and artmaking.
Unlike the other residencies I had attended, this one doesn’t have an exhibition or open studio at the end, which matches my “no destination” philosophy. But I also know that doing nothing is harder than producing counterfeits of art.
I try to walk without destination. One day I found this sculpture trail called “Barefoot Path”. Among the three times I “hei”ed or “hei hei”ed, one person said “hello”. He was from UK and was doing St Olav’s Way on bike. He told me he went to Shanghai in 1986 and at that time the Peace Hotel was the tallest building. The UK embassy was turned into a hostel for travelers. They slept on bunk beds. After we parted, I followed signs, passed a field, and ended up on a rocky beach and did a watercolor of the two pools of water which shone like gems embedded in the rock. This person, who was previously noticing dragonflies near the ditches, appeared again and introduced me to bird types, how ticks bite, and the three kinds of twilight (oh they rhyme!).
Despite the swooshing cars during my walks, I enjoyed the company of the vestige of life – paths on twigs and wood which are the runes of worms, claw scratches on the rock bed probably from glacial movements, fallen pieces of pine tree barks which look like a multi-layered puzzle, and each piece form a bigger puzzle on the tree. I also noticed a lot of fallen trees on the island, which I heard are not meant to be removed unless they are in the middle of the road. With every step, I cannot help thinking about tectonic movement and that this island is actually one giant piece of rock, with trees and animals living on it. And I am redundant to this landscape. This feeling of me being an insignificant creature on earth reached its peak one afternoon when Gill and I saw two young foxes napping in the shade of the roots of a fallen tree. All I could think was, this is their land, and I should leave.
In the first week, a fellow artist Gill showed me two labyrinths in Korpo and Nauvo. For the first time I learned that a labyrinth is not a maze. In a maze, you try to find your way out and might get lost in dead ends, but in a labyrinth, there is only one way, which leads to the center, and you walk out the same way. After my first labyrinth walk, Gill asked what was on my mind. I said “no destination” - another synopsis of my life and artmaking.
Unlike the other residencies I had attended, this one doesn’t have an exhibition or open studio at the end, which matches my “no destination” philosophy. But I also know that doing nothing is harder than producing counterfeits of art.
I try to walk without destination. One day I found this sculpture trail called “Barefoot Path”. Among the three times I “hei”ed or “hei hei”ed, one person said “hello”. He was from UK and was doing St Olav’s Way on bike. He told me he went to Shanghai in 1986 and at that time the Peace Hotel was the tallest building. The UK embassy was turned into a hostel for travelers. They slept on bunk beds. After we parted, I followed signs, passed a field, and ended up on a rocky beach and did a watercolor of the two pools of water which shone like gems embedded in the rock. This person, who was previously noticing dragonflies near the ditches, appeared again and introduced me to bird types, how ticks bite, and the three kinds of twilight (oh they rhyme!).
Despite the swooshing cars during my walks, I enjoyed the company of the vestige of life – paths on twigs and wood which are the runes of worms, claw scratches on the rock bed probably from glacial movements, fallen pieces of pine tree barks which look like a multi-layered puzzle, and each piece form a bigger puzzle on the tree. I also noticed a lot of fallen trees on the island, which I heard are not meant to be removed unless they are in the middle of the road. With every step, I cannot help thinking about tectonic movement and that this island is actually one giant piece of rock, with trees and animals living on it. And I am redundant to this landscape. This feeling of me being an insignificant creature on earth reached its peak one afternoon when Gill and I saw two young foxes napping in the shade of the roots of a fallen tree. All I could think was, this is their land, and I should leave.
I. The runes of beetles
I noticed that some fallen tree branches had tracks of worms on them. After some research I learned that they are from beetles. Fun fact - in Finnish they are called "kirjanpainaja", or book printer.
According to my very reliable research, the larvae carve their paths individually and navigate themselves by hearing each other (maybe not by ear but they perceive vibration somehow). They radiate and do not bump into each other. When they are sure about the sound sources they go straight or deviate a little if they hear a sound that’s louder on one side, and when they are away from the sound sources or when they are confused, they go aimlessly.
According to my very reliable research, the larvae carve their paths individually and navigate themselves by hearing each other (maybe not by ear but they perceive vibration somehow). They radiate and do not bump into each other. When they are sure about the sound sources they go straight or deviate a little if they hear a sound that’s louder on one side, and when they are away from the sound sources or when they are confused, they go aimlessly.
I walked around the island and collected around 40 branches with beetle messages and made this shrine, where viewers can take one stick and interpret the message with the help of my dictionary. The shape of the container is inspired by the ancient burial mounds near the residency.
II. For those who like to walk
I made a map of my walking experience in Korpo. Lucky that throughout the very mild bushwhacking over the month I didn’t get any tick bites and only saw a full snake skin on the ground instead of a moving snake. The thing I only recently realized about walking on the rocks and in the forest is that the way will always appear when I just go.
III. Labyrinth walk
This year' summer solstice was 11:51pm on June 20. I made a lantern, sang, and walked the labyrinth in Nauvo. It doesn’t get dark here. No mosquitoes when you concentrate.