'Kajaani', acrylic on canvas, 81x100x3.5cm
Land of Heroes
'Lake Ladoga'
acrylic on canvas81x100x3.5cm
'Turku'
acrylic on canvas81x100x3.5cmThe paintings are an abstract understanding of myth and legend, the sublime and the histories we create.
The main inspiration here is the Finnish epic poem compiled by Elias Lonnrot in the 19th century. Lonnrot travelled extensively gathering material from different locations, in and around Finland. What he found were ballads, incantations, lyrical songs and stories that were part of the Finnish oral tradition. He took these and bound them together to create the Kalevala (Land Of Heroes). This was at a time when Finland was under Russian rule but wanted freedom and a national identity.
'Akonlahti'
Acrylic on canvas81x100x3.5cm
'Lapuhka'
Acrylic on canvas81x100x3.5cmMost of the paintings are about the locations and places and atmosphere of Lonnrot’s journey of inspiration and understanding. They also reflect an everyday creation of myth and legend in relation to our own travelling histories and culture of today, for instance in the ‘Lanarkshire’ paintings, a contemporary journey in a historical landscape.
Our lifestyles and culture of travel are not too removed from mythical travel of old. Lonnrot himself may one day be part of myth and legend as may any human today where their stories are told and retold, added to and translated over millennia, as people make histories, myth and legend.
Like the paintings the stories may be abstract and distilled versions of human existence.
Zarina Keyani
October 2019
'Inari'
acrylic on canvas81x100x3.5cmAll images copyright Zarina Keyani