Jaakko Pallasvuo
1987, Lohja
sculpture
“At the age of 27 you’re living the busiest time of your life, you just don’t know it yet. Six years later, you’re sitting alone in a park in Asia, wondering about how easy it was to achieve it all, and yet how hard it has been. Making all the artworks was the easiest part. When you turn 40, you feel amused when you realise that you haven’t really changed or grown, you just tolerate chaos much better than before. Nevertheless, you’re afraid of becoming out-of-date. At 68, you make your best works. You have managed to create a story of your life that is so clear and vivid that sometimes you don’t feel like living it. When you’re 93, someone from the Academy of Fine Arts gives you a call. The voice on the phone sounds strange, and the way the caller pronounces English reminds you of cold, idle winters. You’re asked to become a lecturer. You hum a short song into the phone, hoping that they have the sense to record it, because you are dying. People will consider your gesture arrogant, but you’re already far away, being misunderstood for the last time.”
-Kimmo Modig