Gallery

The name of the collection of works, Uuden maailman hyväntuuliset hahmot (‘The cheerful characters of the New World’), refers to the organic shape of the sculptures, which is reminiscent of protozoans. It could be argued that these works are like technological protozoans that emerge from the depths of the Earth and the hot springs when every other living being has perished. They are related to tardigrades and can only survive because of artificial intelligence and technological evolution. However, the brightly coloured glazings and the rotating shapes introduce an element of joy and levity to them.

I have arrived at the organic shape of the works by drawing hundreds of sketches out of which I have selected the best ones. There are around 50 independent stages in the working process before a sculpture is finally finished, and many of these, such as Raku firing, are very demanding. I have experimented with the sculpting process and developed it over the past three years in order to find the right techniques for the glazing and firing, as well as for working with the electromechanics and carbon fibre.