The Bird. 2018.Galvanized and non-galvanized 1mm steel wire. 26x17x16 cm. This buddy is one of my earlier experiments with steel wire. He is quite small – and very huggable, and the little brother of Bird with Heart. He’s the one who gave Bird with Heart the pear-shaped geometry – and some of his beak texture. He is unusual in that he’s fully made of 1mm gauge wire: most of the time I …
This drawing was born out of a photograph my mom sent we from Helsinki back when traveling was a thing. I’ve been trying to find the photo, it really should be in our family chat history – but there’s over nine thousand pictures there, and I have to admit I gave up at some point, so I’ll just use words. It was a picture of a guy on a bench somewhere in …
I started this pic back in October. I was home at my mom’s place in Petrozavodsk, a month after grandpa died. I like keys. I rarely really lock things, but there’s something special and magical about keys. I have a liking for them as objects that are almost abstract, sculptural. The key in the bird’s side reminds me of the key to my mother’s piano. It’s an old piano made some time …
I am usually not this literal, but yup, this is a Python pic. For the past 54 days, one to fifteen hours of my day each day have been dedicated to studying Python and things connected to Python. It’s not my first programming language. I’ve done some PHP and some JavaScript. And I use PHP in my daily work. But Python is special. It’s a language that feels right. The whole thing …
I am back in St. Pete. The first week I got back J. was away in London, and I was suddenly all alone in an all empty apartment. It was the first time I was alone since grandpa’s death. When grandpa died, I stayed in Petrozavodsk with my mom for a bit. And that whole month that I was in Petro, when we were taking care of grandpa, the days he was …
Ghost in the Shell (Safe Space-3) — Some Stories Squared [Read more]
It all started with this bottle of wine my friend N. and I shared when I was visiting mom in Petrozavodsk. We don’t meet often, but I’ve known N. since my seventh grade or so. We met at my hiking club that I just joined then, and just as at school but fifty-fold I was the odd one out on a million levels. N. was a few years older, respected in the …
All of that week grandpa was much worse. So I guess I just wasn’t into quirky pics any more. Not into crocodiles, not into confused naked men hugging crocodiles, not into magical birds. It’s hard to say what I felt that week. What I was mostly thinking about was this: how on earth would I explain to mom that I am staying. That there’s no way I will leave when grandpa is …
I draw fish all the time. I’m not sure when it started. Maybe it was after watching the Arizona Dream where the fish glides through the air, and after listening to “This is a Film” and “In the Death Car” a crazy number of times. I had that on repeat forever. This is a film about a man and a fish.This is a film about a dramatic relationship between a man and …
A week ago I moved back to Petrozavodsk. My grandpa is unwell, and I’m helping my mom take cure of him for the time being. I am not sure how long I’ll be staying here, but at least until we figure out a sustainable way of caring for him. We are currently in the process of trying to find the right combination of medications to ease his anxiety, agitation and hallucinations. It’s …
Man, Croc, and Other Objects — Digital Mixed Media Painting [Read more]
(scroll down for story) I like kettles and teapots. From old to the very newest cyberspace ones, ceramic, enamel, cast iron, glow in the dark pumped full of electronics and super smart ones. Maybe it’s just the idea of this object the sole purpose of which is bringing warmth and heating water. I drink a lot of tea. Mostly black. Whenever I’m working, there’s always a cup beside me. When I wake …