Exhibition: Skaparkraft

Photographer Marcus Boman (AX) shows his photographs at Gallery NIPÅ.

The exhibition is a tribute to the art of Åland and those who practice it - to those who choose the narrow path of art with all its curses and moments of supreme happiness. The exhibition is based on Marcus Boman's photo book of the same name, Creator Power, which came out in 2018.

Opening and opening hours

Vernissage Tuesday February 19th at 6-18 pm

The exhibition is open until 25 April, weekdays from 10 am to 4 pm

+ Saturdays March 9 th and 23 rd 1-4 pm
+ Thursday evenings March 14 th and 28 th from 5 to 7 pm
Gallery NIPÅ, Köpmansgatan 4, Mariehamn

About the exhibition

With the book "Skaparkraft", I wanted to create a tribute to the Åland art and its practitioners. Artists who, in some cases ever since my childhood, deeply affected me and my own development. During talks with the artists, the Ålandic identity, the longing for the sea, the rocks and nature, were an solid theme. With such a strong common identity, it was natural to present artists who have moved from Åland together with those who have chosen to stay and, of course, together with those who have made the reverse journey and moved to Åland where they successfully participate in both local and international cultural life. In addition to the strong love of the small island, we also find integration, in the most positive sense of the word, as a central theme in the book.

The photographs, that in all took two years to create, have personally been deeply enriching for me. I have met an overwhelming generosity, I have been visiting places that are normally inaccessible to the public, we have discussed the conditions, the history and the future of art, we have surrounded ourselves by the destructive anxiety and fear of the creation process of releasing the "art-children" in public to everyone's view and opinion. We have dealt with the often difficult economic conditions that make up everyday life for many artists, loneliness, but of course also the driving force and the joy of being engaged in what you love.

The exhibition "Skaparkraft" that is based on the book has been made possible thanks to the Nordic Institute in Åland (NIPÅ) and director Jacob Mangwana Haagendal and I am incredibly grateful for all the support. I could not in beforehand imagine how difficult it would be to choose the pictures for the exhibition, find new patterns and connections and combine the pictures from a completely different perspective. Each picture in the book serves its purpose and they are all hust as important - but it is the same thing as in life I suppose; habits and our learned programming are deep and are extremely difficult to remove. Only a brutal slaughter of principles and prejudices causes one to see with new eyes. The advise "The exhibition should be a presentation of you as a photographer and not of the book project" was a bit like chopping a hand of me, but at the same time this advise gave me the real tools to move on. Unfortunately, all artists do not get space, but according to the same principle as in the book, only the visual interaction of the pictures and their ability to talk to each other have controled the selection. Not who are on the picture nor which images I like the best. I hope the pictures will make you stupid, laugh or cry when you consider these amazing people who has mad no other chiose than to choose the narrow path of art with all its curses and moments of supreme happiness.

About Marcus Boman

Marcus Boman has since childhood devoted himself to music and photography and has not yet been able to decide what he will be when he grows up. Music magicians from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki supplemented with private studies in photography, composition and form and color theory. Since 2010, he has worked mainly as a freelance photographer with artist portraits, advertising and product images as the greatest interest, but he can never say no to exciting concert projects. Marcus Boman has been published in several international magazines and has had several separate exhibitions.

For more info see Marcus Bomans website.

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