In the beginning of 2008, I resided for three months at the Villa Karo in Benin. The time spent there stirred me thoroughly. Sweat dripping down the tip of my nose, I began to sculpt little birds at the kitchen table. I felt that I had discovered my own unique style of sculpting. It was as if the birds were flying out of my paintings.

My initial idea was to make a flock of birds for my exhibition. However, no two birds were exactly alike. My birds can be best described with the following lines of the poet Helinä Siikala:

”Vaan aina asuu taloamme jokin lintu,
tulevat lupaa kysymättä, joille ei seinä ole
eikä ikkunan lasi
ei verho mikään”

"But there's always some bird inhabiting our house,
they come as they please, for them there's no wall
nor the window's glass
nor any curtain"

(Helinä Siikala, Pysähdytään, anna kätesi, Otava, 1977)

***
The landscapes familiar to me have been the starting point for my paintings. I take several photographs of the same scene and I choose the one that I can feel in my stomach, or sometimes the one that does not interest me at all.

Then, at some point during the working process, I discard the photo and it might even get lost in my studio. By that time there are already things in my painting that far surpass the photo in attractiveness and of which the painting is finally made. I paint in layers, adding colour and scraping it off, sometimes giving up things that I thought were ready. I follow what could be called the will of the painting. The painting is ready when I feel it in my stomach.

I think that the time I spent in Benin has influenced my paintings, too. After my journey they have become more silent.

I paint with self-made oil pastels.