dylan ray arnold 

My residency will focus on drawing as a way to explore nervous experience. Im interested in what kinds of lines, textures and bodies form in a daily practice of scribing and mobilizing the nervous system within in the Saari environment. For me, the nervous extends beyond corporeal-mental states such as excitement, stress or calm, into poetic wirings where worlds are constantly threaded together.

I will use simple black ink on a variety of surfaces; from repurposed domestic textiles to tabloidpaper and other quotidian materials at hand. Im drawn both to the weightless image-nature of drawing as well as its materiality. Starting from doodles or trembling lines I will follow their abstract vibes, old mannerisms or emerging visions. I have learned that there exists a world of mental-botanies, -architextures and -landscapes that become visible in drawing.

To situate this practice I will consider the intertwining cultural histories of drawing, the nervous system, and mental-health discourses and practices. Drawing can be at once a trace, symptom, restorative, generative or just fun.

Alongside the open drawing process I will be working on some sculptural works for a solo exhibition later this year at Sculptor gallery in Helsinki.

dylan ray arnold is a helsinki-based artist working with sculpture, assemblage, drawing, printed matter and installation. Their work connects to the material-poetic aspects of everyday lived environments, weaving together mental and physical spaces. dylans practice also includes an ongoing collaboration (Touristes Tristes) with artist Océane Bruel. Their works have been exhibited in solo-, duo- and group-exhibitions in Finland: SIC space (2025), Kiasma (2025), OK11 (2025), Forum Box (2023), HAM gallery (2020), Turku Art Hall (2020); Sweden: Galleri CC (2024); Estonia: Hobusepea galerii (2023), Tallinn Art Hall (2019); France: In extenso (2024), Pauline Perplexe (2022) and Glass Box (2019).