Zeal

acrylics on canvas
81 x 100 cm
2020

reserved // now 234 € (orig. 390 €)

(incl. VAT. 10 %)

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it’s almost like
they all had
a life’s goal

when my life
still
is like a wild animal;

full of
hunger
and thirst

zest
and yearning 

still
this ever-growing
longing in me

that I do not try
to domesticate -

// KV

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I’ve thought a lot about how we speak of life. Like, we speak of life’s goals and life’s purposes, and of life’s direction. In Finnish we also speak of “elämännälkä” and “elämänjano”, which either mean hunger and thirst for life but can also be translated “life’s hunger” and “life’s thirst”. This idea of hungry, thirsty life fascinates me.

We need purpose, direction and reason, but… I’d still say we need the hunger more. Goals without hunger become joyless, direction without thirst becomes a chore. But hunger and thirst, without direction, can accidentally find a goal they didn’t know to seek; zeal and curiosity even without a clear purpose can sometimes end up healing the world. 

I don’t see hunger and thirst as something that consumes you - I see it as curiosity, sense of wonder, as a will to seek adventures and a courage to follow them. 

This painting is called “Vimma”, which here would translate as Zeal. It was born in a strangely strong flow where I didn’t really plan the colours but witnessed them appear on the canvas. I love how it speaks to me of the meaning of the painting; arent’ the biggest things in life sometimes the unplanned ones, the uncontrollable ones? Like love, like hope.

Those I want to be after, with a hungry heart.