FENNICA
oil on canvas - 2013
Fennica paintings represent pieces of Finnish birch.
Nature has made the birch trunk white, a color that is in many ways symbolic for Finland, reminding us the snow that covers the forests and the landscape illuminating the timeless dark winter days.
When I look at the pieces of birch with the eyes of a Brazilian, I see more than a beautiful object. I see a whole country and a nation. Something of the very essence of Finnish people and their relationship with the nature and life itself.
The way the Finnish birch withstands the weather and the forces of Nature, getting stronger year after year while keeping its characteristics, can be described by the Finnish word ‘sisu’. It is also the name of one of my paintings.
The Fennica series is my tribute to tenacity and endurance. It is also a tribute to the Finnish cultural heritage.
I have named several of the different paintings after the main characters of ‘Kalevala’, Finland’s national epos. A painting where the mythical young and beautiful maid “Aino” and the powerful and fearsome “Louhi” are depicted by the same three pieces of birch at different stages of aging. It tells a story to all Finns who know their ‘Kalevala’.
It appeals to those who have a deep fondness for wood and the forest.
