koivu (John Cage)

I was thinking about a symbol for change for a while.
A thing that appears and disappears.
A challenging task since it can be almost absolutely anything.
I wanted it to be organic and something with grandeur.
When I learned that birch trees are so called “pioneer species”,
meaning that they are the first to grow in barren environment
or repopulate in such a place and they are resilient, I knew I
had found my symbol to paint, as a starting point.
Also I always liked how the bark is distinctively white
with black accents and has an almost painted look to it.

I started out with two panels of the same size and drew
a birch with a felt-tip pen. Then, as usual, I started painting
over it, reacting to what was already on the panel.
An image started appearing, between the others.
This happens all the time whilst working, sometimes I
act upon it a bit, sometimes I don’t. In this case, and in a
early stage of the process, I decided to steer completely
towards that image. This was partly inspired by the
composer John Cage (1912-1992), of whom I was reading
and watching a lot of material at the time. So this is the reason
why I included him in the title.

“Koivu” means birch in Finnish and I chose this because of
another composer named Jean Sibelius (1865-1957).
He wrote 5 pieces for piano music (Op.57) often referred to
as The Trees. These pieces demonstrate Sibelius’s deep,
almost spiritual connection to the Finnish landscape and nature, which he famously loved. One of them is called Koivu.