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.
Sample — image to follow
Asko's words, before the bridge
I made a gift for Hailuoto. Around three hundred pieces. Paintings, small things. I made them by hand, from the beginning. The canvases too, I make them myself. And I gave them away. I gave them to the people of the island. But not only the people. I gave them to the birds, the trees, the plants, the shore, the water.
I did this in the last days of the ferry. Soon the bridge opens, and the ferry stops. The rhythm people have come to this island by for generations. The water. The waiting. The crossing. It ends soon. I did not make this into grief. I made it into a gift. Kiitos. Thank you. That simple.
I did not sell anything. I am not asking for anything. It is already done. You who received a piece — it is yours now. And you who do not know you received one — the räkättirastas, the fieldfare; the vuohenputki, the goutweed; the shore; the wind — you received one too.
Our conversations with the plants are conversations with the whole universe. That is what I believe. So I gave the work to the whole island. To every living one here. Because they are all living. They all belong to this. Nothing separate. We are not separate drops. We are the ocean. The deep water.
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.