AN INTERVIEW WITH MYSELF
THE END - It all started here, as this was the first time I photographed improvised contemporary dance and collaborated with professional dancers. Dancers: Xan Burley & Alex Springer - Brooklyn, New York City, USA. 2013 // header image: BETWIXT & BETWEEN / collaboration with dancer Ania Straczynska - Gdańsk, Poland
How and why did I decide to become an artist?
It was an evolution for me. I always felt since my early childhood that I was an artist of some sort. I also felt that I have something to say, something that nobody else can say. However, I really started calling myself an artist and believing it around ten years ago. That is when I realized that I am exploring my feelings and emotions through my art. I also started to notice that other people were connecting with my art and that gave me extra motivation to do it professionally.
URGENT MATTERS / collaboration with dancer Ania Straczynska - Alexandra Road Estate, London, UK
What does being an artist mean to you?
It is a responsibility and calling at the same time for me. I feel that I have to explore that side of my being, otherwise I disappoint myself and I am not being true to myself. The creation process and exhibiting makes me a content and more holistic person.
Ron Clifford interviews me at 44 minutes at https://youtu.be/asaMBO_Buic?t=2690
My artistic practice in short
I am a fine art photographer and lately also a film maker. For ten years I have collaborated with contemporary dancers around the world. I have photographed their improvised moments of dance in urban public environments. The genesis for this was in New York where I started the project in 2013. The combination of another art form (dance), architecture, different cultures and improvisation is the key for my images. During recent years I have also started to work on video & film using very similar methods as in my still photography. The films , in which I have collaborated with a dancer & choreographer Maria Nurmela, have been shown around the world in prestigious festivals and institutions.
CONCRETE TRIPTYCH - Sibelius Museum, Turku, Finland
THINK CORNER, Helsinki, Finland - An architectural detail
What kinds of experiences of success I have had as an artist?
For me the connection and collaboration with my subjects (the dancers) in the photographs are just invaluable. Those fleeting moments of inspiration and improvisation captured on the camera are just huge. Secondly the connections and conversations with people that follow or purchase my art made out of these frozen moments. That gives me a feeling of gratitude as well as a big motivation to move forward.
EDGES - collaboration with movement artist LEYYA MONA TAWIL / Port of Turku, Finland
