Photo by: Indira WredeKIA
STANDERTSKJÖLD-
NORDENSTAM
I’m a contemporary artist based in Helsinki, Finland. I make colourful, strange and slightly unsettling paintings populated by creatures that come from the peculiar world inside my head. My work often deals with mental health, inner demons and the messier parts of being human, but I don’t want these things to feel purely dark. Humour, tenderness and a sense of absurdity are just as important to me.
I’ve always been drawn to stories and imaginary worlds, and therefore my work is influenced by books, music, films, art history, dreams, imaginary friends and the random thoughts that get stuck in my head. I like combining things that don’t necessarily belong together, from acrylic paint, crayons and book pages to medical imagery and whatever else happens to catch my attention.
Each painting is its own little world, with its own characters and stories. I want the creatures to feel strange and familiar at the same time, like they might be representations of something you recognise in yourself, even if you can’t quite explain what it is. Ultimately, I aim to give the weird, uncomfortable and vulnerable parts of ourselves a place to exist, and hopefully to find some joy in them too.