AVA Gallery 2008

Spring in Lågskär

Some years ago I spent a night at the Lågskär bird station in a tent by the sea. I woke up in the dark when eiders started to moan. The morning began with a fading blue dusk, where the male eiders could be seen as white spots in the sea, and the females as dark silhouettes. After a while the morning sun lightened up the whole sea. In my paintings I have tried to bring back the image of the endless blue dusk, the borderline between sleep and being awake.

Lågskär is situated 15 nautical miles south of the city of Maarianhamina. It is the southernmost remote island of the Aland archipelago. I spent many spring weeks there in 2001-2004. The spring in Lågskär is full of surprises. The island can, for example, suddenly be full of little birds. The island is magical to me. In the last few years I haven`t been able to go there, but I have had many dreams where I walk there.