The Water Being's Journey
6.-19.9.2024
Tue-Fri 14-19, Sat-Sun 12-17
We are beings whose every cell is composed of water. Water is the foundation of our lives. The works in this exhibition have also been born from water. Mist, ice, raindrops, morning dew – water in its various forms offers an endless array of subjects to draw from.
The exhibition The Water Being's Journey is a dive into the subconscious. The narrative works move across multiple timelines, where folklore and mythology intersect with observations experienced in nature. The paintings comment on current issues but are not bound to any specific time. Sebastian Lindberg has drawn inspiration for his work particularly from the art movements of the 19th century, a period when esoteric currents were strong. The romanticism, with its concept of the sublime, where nature was simultaneously both beautiful and terrifying, has also influenced the paintings in the exhibition. Fear and reverence are concretized as we helplessly witness the upheavals of nature.
The series of paintings displayed in the gallery represents both a symbolic journey on a meta-level and a concrete journey from the coast of the Gulf of Finland to Lake Geneva and back. The works that fit into a suitcase can also be seen as a statement: does a nature experience have to be a spectacle? Enormous mountains can fit in a suitcase, and even a small pond can carry great significance.
Sebastian Lindberg (b. 1978 in Raahe) lives and works in Geneva, Switzerland. He graduated in 2000 from the Free Art School, Helsinki. Lindberg has held several solo and group exhibitions in Finland and has also participated in group exhibitions abroad. He is a member of the Finnish Painters' Union and the Helsinki Artists' Association.