17-21.2.21 Finland | Serlachius Foundation | The two month residency in Finland was quite successful with an exhibition and feature in the newspaper. My working conditions in the studio were near perfect and the footage in the local thrift stores turned out amazing. Only the cold temperatures with mostly minus 20 degrees became a challenge to my daily commute by bike.

In my constructional garments I try to define the space of intimacy and the margin of distance to express a self-consciousness without being exploited. The title of the exhibition “The Distance of Faith” is supposed to describe a new understanding of the embodiness of our own space. In current times we are manoeuvred in that experience by different believes of science and faith. For sure we learned recently a new measurement of intimacy and privateness. I like to address this new space of self-awareness by my garments and wearable objects. For some reasons Finnland is quite an interesting place to research this kind of personal distance. Traditional cultural behaviour may be one reason that the people here connect much better with the new indicated rules of personal distance. As they cope well with a scientific approach to handle isolation rather than flee in certain patterns of conspirational belief. Part of handling this moment may be rooted in their own mythology “Kalevala” which has shaped Finnish culture and the national feeling in ways that should not be underestimated. The Kalevala differs from other saga cycles that it focuses on the common people and its heroes are distinguished mostly by knowledge and the art of singing. In that sense I try to reflect parts of the local identity in my artistic approach to reflect the Finnish embodiment of the personal space.