In December 2019 I was resident at Kulttuuri Kauppia – an artist residency, gallery and studio in Ii, Finland.
As part of my work I engaged in further research into the Emotional Weather Bureau. Specifically working on emotional weather forecasting with the community at the local libraries and the mental health unit. Find out more here.
I also responded to the short daylight hours, the snow and aurora. With sunrise around 10am and sunset around 2.15 the days are short. It interferes with the circadian rhythms, the processing of vitamin D, sleeping, waking – it is quite disorientating.
Unfortunately the sky never really cleared at night due to the temperatures not being low enough to break up the cloud. There was lots of evidence of global warming/ climate change. When i got to Helsinki the icebreakers were in harbour – meaning the oceans are not frozen – and the harbours in Helsinki were still liquid – in past years i have been able to walk across the sea to the islands.
I explored making text sketches. Vernalise – is a period of cold which seeds need to grow properly such as oaks and garlic.