Susanne Broända Biography
Finland, born 1978
I’m a self-taught artist who grew up in a small village called Socklot in the Ostrobothnian countryside in Finland but moved to Vaasa (Finland) in my twenties. My work consists mainly of paintings in acrylic and ink on printmaking paper or wooden boards, but I also create sculptures from wood, metal, rope, and raw glass. My absolute favorite motif, no matter in which form of expression, are birds. These birds are stripped down in their figurative language, and I usually place them in a form of abstract worlds and existences.
My technique is very much a creation of the health issues that began for me around the age of 30. It’s because of my health that I’ve been forced to find ways to keep creating without pushing my body too much. Today I can't work with brushes almost at all, I've had to simplify/clean up my technique but at the same time trying not to take away what I want to express through my work.
The background to my creations is an alternative spiritual view of life and my major sources of inspiration are above all inner personal development and the enigmatic. Since my earliest childhood, I have felt a strong connection to the energy of life and the life beyond. It is this sensitive to energies that I use as one of my tools when creating. I describe my art as a mixture between wakefulness and dreams because with it I want to build a bridge between the intangible and the mundane.
With my art, I want to highlight both the beauty and the difficulties in life and show that there is magic around us. It all comes down to our way of looking at things and what we are willing to see and face. For me, art is a mirror or a window that can help us make an inner journey and reflect not only on ourselves and our life but also on the world around us.
And then the question: Why birds? Birds are for me messengers of life. They are strong, fragile, and brave and they are always in perfect contact with their surroundings, regardless of which element they are in. There have also been several occasions when I have experienced them bringing messages from the other side.
My art is perhaps a step in between the world of dark art and light art. But that is also why I think that my work belongs in this field of artistic approach, my creations can be a bridge between the intangible and the mundane.
