BETWEEN EARTH & SKY – Mikael Korkee
I am Mikael Korkee, a sculptor from Pori, born in 1991. I graduated from Kankaanpää School of Fine Arts in 2017. In my art, I focus on sculpture, performance art, and poetry. However, I always strive to find a form for my art ideas that knows no technical boundaries. In sculpture, I mainly focus on utilizing natural materials. An especially important source of materials and a place of peace for me is the maritime Pori. From there, my creativity springs and connects to other threads of life. In art, I am guided by my way of seeing the world through the eyes of ancient hunter-gatherers. I collect seaweed, gather driftwood smoothed by water, and fish caught by spearfishing find their place in my works as tanned fish skins. It’s as if I am harvesting from my mental landscape. I want to depict the diversity of life in my art, through which I move from darkness towards light. Nature, faith, love, miracles, humanity. For me, art is a search for truth.
My first solo exhibition, “Between Earth & Sky,” gathers a collection of works created with materials from my mental landscape. Seaweed, driftwood, fish skin. Numerous moments near the sea have enabled the discovery of just the right pieces for the works. Alongside the exhibition, I have also created a poetry piece that, like the sculptures, travels through the concepts of birth, life, and death. The sculptures offer the viewer the possibility of interpretation. To see everything with their own eyes, while the poetry piece invites the viewer into the depths of the artist’s mind.
The exhibition emphasizes the importance of nature to humanity. How pure nature is connected to the well-being of the human mind. Industrial emissions polluting water bodies have been a major concern for me as I view life through the eyes of an artist and spearfisher who loves water bodies. A strong theme in the expression of the exhibition is also the concept of faith. I want to bring forth something forgotten. What is the relationship between good and evil when we consider human tendencies towards spirituality? What can nature teach us? What is the relationship between God and nature when we contemplate right and wrong, good and evil? Could my exhibition bring us a step closer to the truth?
Translated with Copilot