Sirkku Ketola | Puu puu pi duu – wood as skin Featuring Prudencio Agbodande

PUU PUU PI DUU – WOOD AS SKIN is an improvised dialogue about wood and other things. Wood recurs at every level of the exhibition. Long ago, someone felled a forest to create a field. Alpo Jaakola planted a forest back into that field. An old drying barn, built of wood, now serves as the gallery. The spirits of the trees circle the rafters and the stalks; their call is impossible to ignore. Wood is familiar to me; it has always been present in the subjects and materials of my work. I have created many prints using wood—printing *from* wood and *onto* wood. Strong, repetitive ornamentation runs through my work. Rhythm and repetition are inherent to printmaking. Working in series—printing the same image over and over—turns the process into a choreography of movement. For this exhibition, I have printed wood. Patterns resembling skin emerged on the paper, derived from the textures of tree bark. A snake sheds its skin periodically, and so does an artist. For decades, beautiful and peculiar sticks have secretly traveled with me in my bags from continent to continent. Now, I am assembling these elements and eagerly immersing myself in a playful improvisation involving materials and space. In recent years, I have visited West Africa three times. During my first visit, I collected driftwood washed up on the shore and carved it alongside my other artistic work. On the second visit, the carving intensified. I noticed that the repetition inherent in my printmaking practice was mirrored in the process of working with wood. As I carved, communicating with the universe through my hands, I was fully present. My colleague from Benin, Prudencio Agbodande, observed my work and immediately understood what I was doing; his own practice also involves ritual repetition and a deep understanding of material. He is not only a visual artist working with wood but also a traditional king with a profound knowledge of his culture’s sacred customs. We began an artistic dialogue, and I invited him to participate in this exhibition. We worked side by side on the exhibition’s newest pieces at his palace.

This exhibition thrives on variation and change. My decade-long performance piece *A Body Called Paula* (2017–2027) has taught me the most about this subject; each new phase represents a shedding of skin. The piece is also being presented as part of this exhibition. Performances take place on Saturday, May 23; Sunday, May 24; Tuesday, May 26; and Wednesday, May 27, starting at 12:00 PM. You may experience the work briefly or spend more time with it—the choice is yours. A warm welcome to you! I have learned that the repetitive movements involved in the work must feel natural to the maker. The urge to press, the urge to carve—understanding the material, removing parts of it, and feeling it against one’s skin answers an existential need for meaning. Fingers tingle; thoughts flow through the body and hands into the heart of the wood and the fibers of the paper; the material listens to the spirit. To paraphrase Antonin Artaud, art makes the skin shiver. In this way, the artworks share in the flow of life. Puu puu pi duu – Wood as skin. Wonderful wood.