Constructed book with wooden pages.

This large wooden book consists of five pages, wood veneer covered in sand and ashes with collages of melted tin. The pages are tied into covers with thick leather cord. The book draws its inspiration from the phases and landscapes of the Moon. I’m generally very reluctant to date my work as I feel any kind of analysis according to timeline would be artificial – all of my books I could still make today. There might be phases of materials and techniques that I work through, but in essence, I could still make each of my books today, all of my books to me are that ‘fresh’ creatively. In my creative sphere, none of my books is older or newer than another. But, it may be of interest to some, that this particular artist book is the very first artist book I ever made. That was in 1992 and what sparked it all of, my love of artist books, was and still is, the incredibly beautiful artist books of Finnish painter Senja Vellonen, who at the time was also my teacher at University of Art and Design in Helsinki. And as it happens, I still use melted tin in my work, as well as pyrography. As great as knowledge and skills are, they sometimes also come in the way – or one must get past them to reach the most honest expression. In many ways, maybe my books just came about easier, earlier.

This book was destroyed by fire in 2009