My current practice is based on drawing and painting with ink, brushes and an airbrush. A central visual feature in the pieces is a form of frottage – utilizing the creasing of thin paper with ink washes. The interaction of ink washes and the creased surface brings forth images in different stages of figurativeness. The source material for many of my latest works has been 19th and 20th century photographs found from the internet. A sketch of the source image is drawn through on a piece of thin rice paper which is then crushed, evened out, and finally inked.
The inking process is both a process of control as well as an accident. Nothing can be corrected, and at most, only covered. However, an error is something to be desired for pure chance could prove to be vital in making the work more interesting by opening up content that could not be found with an over controlled mind and hand.
Much of my production is made in the black-and-white color range. Even though black and white can be seen as opposites they contain similar attributes: both can be seen as “uncolors”, combination of all colors, or the lack of color. A prolonged gazing of a black-and-white image can create an optical illusion where the colors momentarily change places. In a certain state of mind they can also be seen as one color.
From 2014 and onwards I have also worked with what could be called extended drawing, making sculptural installations or three-dimensional drawings. The pieces are concerned with representation, or more specifically, bringing mental representations into physical reality in the form of ”sculpture pictures”.
A ten year period (2003-13) of my practice was spent making abstract paintings. Most of the influences in the work were drawn from High modernist art, New York abstraction and East Asian art in general. My aim was a spiritualized interpretation of minimal and systematic practice. Making art served as a form of focused meditation as did its viewing.
My art practice is heavily influenced by my personal practice of Zen Buddhism. A red thread of Buddhist practice and philosophy interacting with Western art and life connects the pieces together. As a draughtsman, sculptor, father, husband, nurse and a Zen practitioner my aim has been to build “a seamless monument”, as inspired by Zen master Hui Chung. This is, even though roles in life’s various avenues differ, to live it all as one life.
In April, 2024