Turku Biennial, Finland
A Rock From An Island, 2015, inkjet print on commercial paper, Blue Tak, 129 x 165 cm
7th International Turku Biennial
The Unexpected Guest
10 June–30 August 2015
Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova Museum, Turku, Finland
For this show my starting point is a rock housed in a glass cabinet in the wall of the host museum. The rock comes from Pourewa (named by Captain Cook as ‘Spöring Island’) in New Zealand and commemorates Herman Spöring - a Finn who travelled on Captain Cook’s voyage to Australia, but died on the way back.
I’m looking at the seemingly objective nature of the world-changing observations made on the voyage and question a notion of universal good that accompanies such historical tales. I am using artefacts from my daily experience and working across a variety of media. Currently thoughts of coral bleaching have me sign-painting a number of boards with words in shades of white gloss paint.
I am indebted to photographer Sam Brown for assistance photographing a nicely sea washed lump of concrete I found on the beach in Portsmouth, and to artist Erno Enkenberg and curator Silja Lehtonen for inviting me to participate in the exhibition.
Volcano, 2015, Enamelled steel, 56 x 38 cm
Installation view - foreground A Rock From An Island, 2015, inkjet print on commercial paper, Blue Tak, 129 x 165 cm
Homecoming, 2015, various wooden panels, household gloss, dimensions variable
Map of Ascension, 2014, embroidery on found bed sheet, 220 x 260 cm
Lading (Kaete) and Lading (Ruthi), 2014, Acrylic on found postcard, 8.7 x 13.9 cm
Homecoming, 2015, various wooden panels, household gloss, dimensions variable
Map of Ascension, 2014, embroidery on found bed sheet, 220 x 260 cm
The Spöring Memorial, Turku, Finland, featuring a rock from the island, Pourewa. The island was once known as Spöring Island, after the Finnish draughtsman Herman Spöring, the first Finn to land in New Zealand in 1769.
