Jenny Vesiväki

The main theme and inspiration for my work and life during the residency is the non-gesture of allowing as a means of creating and existing, as it is expressed in the classic text Tao Te Ching. I also want to profoundly see and feel the surroundings at Saari and bring the experiences into my work.

I look forward to a deep process with lots of space for exploration, paradox, and mystery. I would love to build a sense of community with the place and the people who are there. I feel it is very valuable to let others in on my working process, this is something I am usually hesitant about. I am grateful to get to discuss the processes of others as well.

I work with painting, drawing, mixed media, and whatever means are necessary to bring forth the art. I have worked as a community artist and have recently focused on making intuitive portraits of places and people.

I am constantly motivated to find new ways of getting out of my own way. The conscious mind is great for studying and understanding things that contribute to the themes I want to work on, but for me it is most important to create intuitively and spontaneously. I like to balance out my work by both studying my topics and allowing the wild in me to lead the creating.

Jenny Vesiväki (b.1986) is an artist and topophil – a lover of places. For some years now, she has focused on exploring the center-periphery polarity in her work. She has much faith in exploring as a means of cultivating and healing. At the core of all her work is the interconnectedness of all things.