The working process has been very close and the resulting views are reflections that materialize in my exhibition as woodcuts. The journey to the world of woodcuts has been very rewarding. I have approached the subjects without prejudice: remembering the old ones, following the current ones and learning new things along the way. Perhaps time is my greatest teacher.
Most of the woodcuts in the exhibition are made on recycled material. In the process, I have used e.g. previously accumulated old graphic prints, on top of which I have printed a new image. I have also made use of old wooden drawing boards and recycled wood boards, building my motifs in a collage-like manner. The preparation of the exhibition started with a thorough inventory of the studio, to see what I have. I had to get one new roll of printing paper, but it was necessary: my image burning required bigger sheets, which I found in my history layers.
The state of life is energy. What if we cherish it instead of destroying it, whatever its form may be. I would like to teach everyone the philosophy of the crow bird, but it is something that is learned in person, in real contact. I still wish that we would see life as valuable and be kind to everything living, it might broaden and teach a lot. Smile at a bully and it might smile back. See life in everything, not just in people who seem to forget it most of the time.
– Markku Haanpää
Briefly about me:
I live and work in Loimaa, my work methods e.g. graphic arts, painting, installation, and sculpture. Naturalness is an important part of my process, both in the events of the paint and in the subject area. The process of artistic work makes me pulsate and its diversity interests me a lot. You can follow my artistic process on e.g. my alter ego Hemuli Hellboy’s Instagram.
Respecting and protecting nature has been important to me since I was a child; this value is my permanent characteristic. The result of my work can be, for example, a protected forest area. I strive to realize my art in the most ecologically sustainable way possible. One of the most important processes in my work is to create something new by recycling.
The themes of my work are often related to consumption, considering e.g. the following information: the item and its weight. The weight of a live moose, how about a fillet on your plate? Endless consumption and traces of the past that are put up on the wall. Credit to life, even if Amazon no longer swallows; it liberates. Devastating war, flaming vistas, creatures dying in vain. What is it to be rich when ecological diversity is impoverished. What does a person pay and to whom?
