We are bound to Daniel by an old friendship. It was only obvious that we would ask him what is he up to and where does he live now?
In Oulu, Finland.
How much does your art depend on the location / space you work in?
I don’t know what to say, I’ve been making monotypes for about two years now, that means I need a printing-press. It’s the only reason that makes me roam from one place to another. Otherwise, I guess, I can create works in any private and relatively far enough place from home.
How do you motivate yourself to keep working in times of no “inspiration” and how do you see the relationship between intention, planning, execution and the final product?
I wouldn’t really call it inspiration. The ideas pop up by drawing in a notebook or reading. If nothing comes together, I don’t do anything. I don’t start any work if I’m not sure what does it stands for and why I’m doing it in the first place.
Name 3 artists that you like, motivate and make you work hard.
I don’t really like artists. From high school to college I stole little bits from Rembrandt, Bosch, Baba, Schiele, Bacon, Tapies. I’ve been trying to get rid of them ever since. I barely succeed. Another important source for me is the artistic and documentary film. Among those who almost left an imprint on my mind are Pasolini and Parajanov. It’s hard for me to talk about contemporary art. I deal with it almost every day. I like certain artists, but because I follow them online, I don’t even bother to remember their names, maybe just the country from where they are. That’s double-edged, the fact that I assume I’ll find them on the internet anytime, makes it easy to forget them.
Your favorite color?
I like black. It’s the simplest color.
Techniques: stolen, learned, ignored? How important is it today to master them?
For me, the technique is really important, but from the moment you master it relatively well, it starts to lose its importance. I consider it as nearly on the same page as the content.
What are your themes and resources? What is it that you are working on right now?
I work a lot with archive photography, so I’m more interested in history, especially the recent one. I’m not trying to recreate historical situations or scenes, I’m just trying to understand them and give them a meaning. My most recent project is about totalitarianism, both of them (nazism and communism). I am concerned with the destinies of some lesser-known but important personalities, who encapsulate all the traces of such a system. The subject must be related to the world we live in, so it’s something contemporary.
How do you relate to the international artistic context?
With no trace of empathy.
