DESCRIBING SOME OF MY ARTWORK - SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COMMENTARIES

The following are some brief examples as to how one can read my artwork, these are mainly social, political and psychological commentaries and most of them won't be in the show. (They are all handmade collages). 

XPULSION (Part of 'Project X')

Foliage - the garden - suggests the cycles of life, and "the eternal return" of certain deeply imbedded patterns in life. This image is mainly about not having energy, and what may be there isn't compatible with external demands, or isn't where one might hope to find it... energy is all about growth and renewal but not really feeling able to be part of it. Of course, the death of certain elements in life is essential for renewal in many areas of life.

ENTANGLED FOR LIFE

This image is about the feeling of being connected to life in this world and the passage of time in both a negative and positive sense. It's about feeling that one has no great control over certain aspects of one's destiny such as a chronic conditions and other debilitating challenges that life throws at us - thus the sensation of drifting. The main figure is vulnerable, unassuming and fairly unaware of her destiny, but driven by a higher consciousness that knows where she is supposed to be going. In the end, it's all the way it's supposed to be.

WHY? The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl

Starting with a photo of myself as a child, this is a young mind questioning the absurdity of life as she experiences a loss of physical strength and parental support. 

The image of the girl is myself at age 4. The comb represents the sorting out of mess. Hair on the other hand symbolizes empowerement, so the loss of hair (e.g. due to stress) is an image of disempowerement. The page about Shakespeare represents the idea of life as a stage on which drama is enacted. The bottle indicates change in an esoteric alchemical sense, as in the growth of the soul.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

This depicts a host of impressions of America and society today. It's about vulnerability and conformity in a society that rewards those who are fit enough to survive the social competitions.

THE MYSTERY OF THE FEMININE

Although in some ways women have been "dismembered" and heavily stereotyped by society, there is great strength and mystery in the feminine. With its many aspects including birth and death, shallowness and depth, emotional intelligence and excellency teamed with the ability to gossip and manipulate, femininity is indeed very complex. 

In the background, employment for women in Sweden 1942 in a women's magazine - mostly maids of all sorts... E.g "ensam jungfru" means "lonely virgin", an old way of indicating an unmarried woman who needs employment. "Troende flicka" means "Christian Girl". "Obemärkt flicka" means 'Unnoticable girl" and"Frisk flicka" means 'Healthy Girl". Femininity symbolizes fertility but also death and rebirth... What will the true emancipation of women be like...? I feel women are well equipped to help dig out the skeletons from the closets ;-). When will women be considered whole people and not cut to form to fit a social agenda?

SOME THINGS SHOULD NEVER BE FORGOTTEN 

This symbolic collage is about emotional development, and specifically about the ambivalence of sexuality. While somewhat threatened, the female figure also expresses excitement and expectancy. It's paradox and part of the dualism of life as well as cycles of existence. Water is a frequent symbol in my work which depicts various emotional states. Here, the volcano in the background expresses suppressed feeling, maybe on the verge of eruption. The camera stands for the ambivalent experience of being observed and objectified.

THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR

Those who are willing to grow as individuals often find that various fears that hold us back are illusory - often laughed at later as foolish ideas. What appears dark, is often a blessing in disguise.

A COLLAGE ABOUT INVISIBLE ILLNESS "X"

So I finished the big collage that has been featured piece meal in previous blog posts. I was really hoping to create an arresting image of life with a chronic, but fairly invisible illness. Realizing that most people wouldn't be very interested in my personal experience, I hoped to create a general atmosphere that many other marginalized people can identify with, and possibly others with some empathy and brains.

What my message really boils down to is feeling neglected and bypassed by society, but there is also a strength in being able to have an outsider's point of view. As usual, I have hoped to express a paradox or double message of suffering and alienation but also strength of character and a possible insight into the deeper layers of life. People with disabilities are not just weak individuals. Very often illness can teach them lessons of life that other people can only dream of (if they care, that is). Of course, it's a sign of a civilized society that it takes care of its weaker individuals. But our society still has a long way to go. It needs to stop bickering over power and border issues - these tend to go round in circles as that which is being destructed has to be mended. It needs to start focusing on the real needs of its members and those who are healthier and wealthier obviously need to take more responsibility for the whole.

"X - Surviving in the World of the Fitter" (56x76cm) Vivi-Mari Carpelan copyright 2011

Second version of the picture above... an attempt to make the figure a bit less "in your face2,
especially as there are some issues with it that I don't know how to fix.
I also wanted to tie in the top bit with the lower bit a bit more.

"X" stands for many things. X marks a spot - this is where the problem lies (it's invisible to the viewer so must be marked with a sign). X is an unknown denominator (in mathematics x is commonly used as the name for an independent variable or unknown value) - often when it comes to physiological problems, the causes and effects are not known or well defined and even diagnoses can be elusive. X signifies a multiplication operation - physical symptoms have a tendency of multiplying over time as one thing leads to another. X has crossed something off or out. X-rays reveal physiological disturbance invisible to the eye. X can replace the signature of someone who is illiterate - this could symbolize the inability to fit in. In some countries (such as Finland where I come from) X is commonly used instead of a tick in a box - I tick all the boxes for someone who is crossed out of society, for instance.

There are also the X-files, which are not open to the general public due to their abnormal nature, and X-rated i.e. censored material which is also available only to the chosen few or those who especially choose to partake in this material. During the plagues, X's were drawn on the doors of those afflicted with it. "Shunning someone like the plague comes to mind...".

But most of all, X is an abstract sign that points to a concrete phenomenon.

As I'm sure anyone can see, the bottom half (from which the figure is more or less cut off for better and for worse) only comprises men and some animals. I decided to omit women in order to stress that we are still obeying patriarchal values and that they obviously don't work very well. However, I would say that people in general are responsible for the state of society and it would be false to portray only high powered authorities as responsible for the chaotic state of affairs.

In reality there are so many social issues to make art about, but it's not easy to find a visual language that is precise without being trite and banal.

This piece has now been sent off to be evaluated by a panel of (as far as I can tell) high powered curators for the Oriel Davies open art exhibition nearby. They ask for an artist's statement of no more than 100 words. I don't know whether it's a good thing or not. Sometimes I think it's useful to have to compress my intentions, and I'm sure it's easier on the judges too... I find that I need to rewrite my statement each time I enter something, because my focus always changes even if it's ever so slightly.

I have now decided to see what I can gain from going with the flow, i.e. find a way of practising art as a disabled artist. It has been a hard decision to make, probably because there is no such thing in Finland unless you have severe learning difficulties... In which case we're not really talking art but therapy (in most cases anyway). However upon some research (which often happens in the form of asking around, and I cannot stress enough how well this works over here) I have found that there is a niche for anyone who is marginalized by society whether it be due to mental problems, physical health problems or financial problems.I joined a gallery called Outside In which is precisely for the promotion of work by such artists, and it looks like there are exhibitions you can enter for free. This is very good news and one of the advantages of living in a big country like the UK. Charities abound. It's a bit strange and different but it's just as well to get used to it. I have also found out about something they call "surgery", a meeting for disabled artists to discuss their projects and needs for funding (as all of it is so much harder for those who lack in health). I am now a member of Disability Arts Cymru. What I am really hoping is to find the route of least resistance, and being able to relax a little rather than trying so desperately to keep up with the healthy lot.

Vivi-Mari Carpelan, a Finnish artist resident in Mid-Wales, has created symbolic images since 1991. Afflicted with a chronic illness since childhood, it comes naturally to her to explore emotional issues of belonging versus not belonging in a society mostly designed for people with wealth and health. Her work expresses paradox, as a fundamental and crucial characteristic of reality. While ill health and alienation are linked with shame and helplessness, these can also give rise to strength of character, deeper insights into matters of life and death, and the advantage of a more objective viewpoint in regards to society at large.

"Ephemeral Ways" (60x60cm), my second entry, created with real ephemera found in a derelict house in Kansas, and my own photo of an old graveyard with European immigrants. 
Copyright Vivi-Mari Carpelan 2007

DERIVATIVE ART

Tracey Emin: "I Do Not Expect", 2002 (patchwork)

It's clear that some artists are at the forefront regarding new and exciting ideas and other people feel inspired. It's however quite difficult to avoid becoming a copy cat if you admire someone's ideas a lot. Some time ago Martin and I went to the MOMA tabernacle gallery in Machyntlleth and had a look at what was on show. They were quilts and or patchwork, done with rich and colours and patterns. Some of them had text. One looked a lot like a Tracey Emin blanket but without the spontaneity, witty and whimsical effect. The text was written like a text in a book, explainig why the artist wanted to create and express herself. To me, it was quite impersonal and matter of fact, and left me cold. 

I think we both felt that the quilts were aesthetically pleasing, but was it art? To me there were two problems; one that it was more craft than art, and the other that the idea of applying text to the quilt was derivative. If you do take up someone else's idea, you have to be bloody good in order to distort it so that it comes across as original.  When people who were more crafty than arty started to stamp words onto their collages, I gave up the idea of using text in any extensive way in mine. Whatever text I have used has not been done as little phrases about the nice things in life. If you use text, please use something that has depth and meaning, as this will come across as your individual choice rather than acting as a parrot.

In one of my collages the lines of text are like snippets out of my diary, and in another, it's actually the phrases from the Desiderata, and I am mocking it in my picture (I apologize to any fans of the Desiderata). To me the Desiderata is the prototype of moral concepts without any individuality about them - it's someone's rather stereotype sermon to those who cannot think for themselves. Anyway, the point is not to remove text from your art, because it's a part of modern art, but to think deeply about what you mean to say or express indirectly by using it.

Not everyone can be a creative genius. But if you want to be taken seriously as an artist, you have to be aware of the dangers of becoming yet another follower of a fad. I agree that it's not always easy, and I certainly have my share of work that I almost rather throw in the fire. Oh shit, Tracey Emin did that too, didn't she... :-0

GARLAND OF FRESHLY CUT TEARS - MY FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION IN BRITAIN

ARTIST STATEMENT 

VIVI-MARI CARPELAN

" Garland of Freshly Cut Tears "

Great Oak Café, Llanidloes 7 ^th  December 2010 to 2 ^nd  January 2011

I hope you will enjoy this collection of artwork from 1997-2009 that I’m showing for the first time in the UK. I’m originally from Finland, where I have been working as an artist since 1991.

Because it is really a debut, this exhibition doesn’t have a specific theme. It does, however, speak of the contemplation of the nature of reality as well as my experience of the human condition. The emotional moments and thoughts that have given rise to these pieces have come out of many a heartache, as well as the bittersweet pondering of the transitory and illusory nature of reality. Some tears are tears of sadness, some are tears of joy. These moments become a necklace or garland of tears that ultimately form the sequence of one individual’s life. But as we all know, water sustains life and so one could say that these tears also give rise to new seeds of experience and increased understanding of the world and the self. I do not create art only for myself, but also hope that I can communicate a shared experience or even give rise to an insight in someone else’s fertile ground.

Born into a family of professional photographers in Finland, images have always played an intimate role in my life. In 1991, while an art student in France, I started to do symbolic artwork as a result of a deepening interest in the interpretation of dreams and various esoteric worldviews (I later received a Master's degree in comparative religion). Ever since, my main focus has been that of capturing a sense of alienation and despair teamed with hope and a desire to create meaning out of suffering. I attempt to improve the connections between mind, body and spirit. I have a conviction of the power of spirit and its expression through human creativity and the deeper values of compassion, tolerance and honesty. I believe that it is important to think more in terms of both-and rather than either-or, and so deep paradoxes are usually embedded in my pieces of art.

Due to various challenges, I have experienced the social status of someone that society thinks of as second-rate. All in all, even though the themes may appear dark at times, my images are usually imbued with a desire to overcome adversity. Although I started out by drawing and painting on paper (mixed media, in other words), I resorted to the creation of collages due to physical difficulties. I am fascinated with the interaction between a particular feeling, state of being or social critique that enters my mind and the images that I discover and compile to match these visions. I enjoy the communication that takes place between me and the collective. I also add my own visual elements such as personal photos and drawings. My aim is to present my personal sphere of reference in relation to the rest of the world in symbolic terms, as I find symbols a powerful way of conveying a mixture of thoughts and feelings. My symbolic language is in parts universal, in parts personal. I feel affinity with artists such as Giorgio de Chirico, Gustav Klimt, Renée Magritte and Frida Kahlo. I say with Frida Kahlo that although my art may appear surreal, this is not quite true since I actually express my own reality and not a fabricated one.

I decorated the café with a Christmasy tablecloth from the Swedish shop Indiska and things I bought in junk shops for our wedding.We offered  mulled wine  (mulled wine) and  mince pies (as you are not allowed to bring your own food, the cafe supplies it at cafe prices).

A small selection of artwork that I have on show:

Vivi-Mari Carpelan: "Where There is Hope - There is Life" copyright 2008

Vivi-Mari Carpelan: "Some Things Should Never be Forgotten", copyright 2008

Vivi-Mari Carpelan: "The Past Comes Crumbling Down", copyright 2008

     

Unless Martin hung my paintings, I would no longer be able to hold exhibitions.

Read more about my show in the blog post 'Music in Wales. "