Before the Bridge
Before the Bridge
Before the bridge to Hailuoto opened and the ferry era ended, Asko made around three hundred works by hand — paintings and small things, the canvases too — and gave them away. To the people of the island, and to its living world: the birds, the trees, the plants, the shore, the water. Not sold, not exhibited — given. Every piece was photographed first.
Around three hundred works, gathered in the yard before they were given.
Asko's words, before the bridge
Three hundred paintings, made in ten days. They belong to the island now, to Hailuoto and everything living on it. Not one is for sale.
Not to the people only, but to the birds, the trees, the insects, the shore, the sea. You who receive one: it is yours now. And you who will never know you received one, the small lives, the green things, the wind: it was always yours too.
My whole life, since childhood, has been rooted in my connection with plants. And how do you meet a plant? By becoming still with it. By living in a different time, because the time of plants is not the time of people.
I am only an ant, crossing an ocean. I serve as a channel. The hand is guided, the pieces fall into place, and beauty is born from mistakes and chance.
All I can say is thank you, to the angels. Thank you to God. Thank you to Jesus. Thank you to love. There are angels among us, if you know how to look. It could be your neighbour. It could be a stranger passing on the street. But above all, it could be you. We are angels to one another.
The water is so deep. A little bit scary. But I am going to jump.
With love, before the bridge. — Asko
Images
Film
The film ‘Ennen siltaa’ assembles after the 29th.
Around three hundred pieces. Given to Hailuoto and every living one on it. In the last days of the ferry. Before the bridge.