Eija Temisevä, Behind mask

Interview: Eija Temisevä

Eija Temisevä and Luca Curci’s conversation about Pixels of Identites – Spain.

Eija Temisevä is a Finnish sculptor and video artist. She was born 1956 in Multia, a little village in Finland. During 1982 – 1986 she studied sculpture in Finnish Academy of Fine Arts. She likes to re-use her sculpture in videos. The theme comes from the contents of the sculpture. Nature, especially woods and trees, and the connection between nature and human being are important for her.

Eija Temisevä, Motions of life

Luca Curci – When you start practicing art and why?

Eija Temisevä – In 1980 I attended a ceramic course and after touching clay I finally ”felt myself a whole person”. So, I applied to study sculpture in Finnish Academy of Fine Arts 1982-1986. I worked as a sculptor and a sculptor teacher for 26 years. After getting tired of making sculpture I started to make videos in 2012–2013. I did not need any concrete material any more but immaterial things: light, time, motion and atmosphere.

Eija Temisevä, Who hears you whispering

L. C. – Can you talk about your artistic work? Which are your inspirations?

E. T. – About my video work: I work a lot by intuition. I just have a “feeling” what I want to and start to make video shots. In those videos in which I re-use my sculpture I make a plan according to the contents of the sculpture. In making video I can work more polymorphic than in sculpture. For example, in those two videos which took part in Pixels of Identities in Spain in October 2014, “Behind mask” and “Who hears you whispering”, I performed myself with my pieces of sculpture and my own voice. My inspirations are: my sculpture, the connection between nature and a human being, and psychological and existential issues.

Eija Temisevä, Reflections

L. C. – What are you currently working on?

E. T. – I work with a video about my earlier made wooden sculptures in the wood.

L. C. – What was the best advice given to you as an artist?

E. T. – Before I was admitted to Finnish Academy for Fine Arts, I attended a summer course in sculpture. After the course my teacher, a recognized Finnish sculptor, hugged me and said “Trust in yourself! Try to keep on! (Working as an artist, because it is not so easy)”. That was very encouraging and important for me before the entrance examination to the Academy.

Eija Temisevä, Touching inside

L. C. – What is art for you?

E. T. – Art is my way to express how I feel and see the life and a way to communicate with other people.

L. C. – What do you think about International ArtExpo organization?

E. T. – It is one good passage to show one’s art internationally.