On Images, Onions and Borders
”The starting point of my work is always reality: the documentary tradition of photography, capturing the world the way it is at that moment, interfering or installing as little as possible.
But a photograph involves always a choice - a dilemma far too familiar to every documentarist and worth recognising to the viewer, too. An image is an interpretation and hence a view of the narrator's world to the viewer, alongside of being a view of the world.
Actually my work is nothing more than carrying this line of thought slightly further: in every image, nothing has been brought into the picture that wouldn't have been there by the moment of its taking. Some features are, of course, enhanced or replicated or omitted in the refinement process, but nothing alien has been added.
In the stylistically more realistic portfolios this is often done by capturing a moment and hence giving the uniqueness of frozen time an extra weight. In the more graphic - or surreal - portfolios the viewer is invited to participate more into the projection.
My aim is to bring the other image inherent in the original one to the surface. I would like to think of images as onions: they have layers, which, when peeled, reveal new dimensions of the source image. Nevertheless they are new images, although seen already in the originals.
Sometimes the seeing has been immediate, sometimes the source image may lay long without refinement, because the new image just won’t show up. Sometimes this leads to a dead end, too. Methods and processes vary.
Because every image hides a million other ones, each choice is just one out of the many possible. I don’t care if the refinement technique is recognisable and left in the work – the way brush marks in a painting tell about the way it was born. These are mere external things.
A recurring theme for me are the border states –between cultural landscape, built environment and "intact" nature views. These borders do not necessarily run where we are used to seeing them. And it's worth remembering that framing and setting edges is the strongest of all manipulation means and at the same time the least noticeable one.
Interested in buying or exhibiting a piece of artwork shown on this site? The images are usually in series of ten signed copies, and where availability is already limited, you will find a notion of that in the caption.
For inquiries on prices, printing and delivery, please contact sales(at)delicateservices.com. Printing is carried out by DMP quality special printers in Helsinki, Finland.
Vimpeli, Finland 2009. Canvas. Portfolio: "Nature border". AVAILABILITY: 4/5.
Ivalo, Finland 2009. Canvas. Portfolio: "Nature border"
Kangasniemi, Finland 2007. Portfolio: "Nature border"
Savonranta, Finland 2010. Portfolio: "Nature border"
Virrat, Finland 2009. Portfolio: "Nature border"
Helsinki, Finland 2010. Portfolio: "Nature border"
Helsinki, Finland 2009. Portfolio: "Nature border"
Oslo, Norway 2009. Portfolio: "Nature border". AVAILABILITY: 9/10.
Lahti, Finland 2009. Portfolio: "Organisation"
Helsinki, Finland 2009. Portfolio: "Organisation"
European airspace 2009. Canvas. Portfolio: "Organisation"
Oslo, Norway 2009. Portfolio: "Organisation"
Helsinki, Finland 2009. Portfolio: "Personnages"
Madrid, Spain 2008. Portfolio: "Personnages"
Portfolio: "Man under"
Portfolio: "Angelwings".
Vantaa, Finland 2009. Portfolio: "Urbanopolis"
Vantaa, Finland 2010. Portfolio: "Urbanopolis"
Portfolio: "J'aime les parisiennes aux printemps". Paris 2010.
Ruovesi, Finland 2009. Portfolio: "People 'n' places".
McCarran Airport, Las Vegas, NV, USA 2009. Portfolio: "People 'n' places".
Rome, Italy 2009. Portfolio: "People 'n' places".
Helsinki, Finland 2010. Portfolio: "People 'n' places".
Riga, Latvia 2010. Portfolio: "People 'n' places".
Casteldefells, Spain 2008. Portfolio: "People 'n' places".
Helsinki, Finland 2010. Portfolio: "Outdoor colours".
Helsinki, Finland 2009. Portfolio: "Outdoor colours".
Cannes, France 2009. Portfolio: "Outdoor colours".
Ivalo, Finland 2009. Portfolio: "Outdoor colours". AVAILABILITY: 9/10.
Helsinki, Finland 2010. Portfolio: "They talk".
News
2010-12-05 Exhibition "Habitation" at Aschan Café Jugend, Helsinki, 18 Jan - 6 Feb 2011
Artwork from the last two years by Markus Leikola in downtown Helsinki in Café Aschan Jugend, situated in the Art Nouveau "Jugend Hall" at Pohjoisesplanadi 19.
2010-08-09 Exhibition "Nature Borders" at Hotel Klaus K, Helsinki, 19 Aug - 30 Sep 2010
Markus Leikola's artworks are exhibited in downtown Helsinki in the lobby of Hotel Klaus K, Bulevardi 2, in August and September 2010. The exhibition is also the launch of a new concept, "One Night Stand with Art", where hotel guests can have works in their hotel room for a one night trial and purchase a print from the hotel reception with their check-out. There will also be a charity auction of a combination of one night stayover and artwork on the Helsinki Night of the Arts, Friday 27th August at 6 PM.
2010-04-10 New Website open
The website featuring art and photography by Markus Leikola is now open at www.markusleikola.com.
b. 1960
M.A. Helsinki University 1984
Journalist, reporter, documentarist 1984-1996
Entrepreneur, consultant, art works 1996-
Helsinki, FINLAND
+358 50 5630 211
sales(at)delicateservices.com
markus.leikola(at)delicateservices.com
Printing partner:
DMP Quality special printers
www.dmp.fi
