The Cyclops and the Tulikettu

If one tries to find what connects Eastern Macedonia and Thrace with Oulu, one might — with a generous dose of humour — conclude that what connects us most is our contrasts. South and North. Heat and cold. Mediterranean light and the Northern Lights. Two places with different rhythms, different habits and, I would say, a somewhat different relationship with the concept of… order.

I chose to work precisely with these contrasts and to bring together two mythical creatures: the Cyclops of Greek mythology and Tulikettu, the mythical fox of Finnish folklore, which, according to legend, creates the Northern Lights with its tail. One comes from the earth, stone, strength and an ancient Mediterranean world. The other from snow, sky, light and the distant North. Two creatures that, theoretically at least, have no reason whatsoever to meet.

But perhaps that is exactly where the interest lies. We do not need to be alike in order to meet. Differences do not always have to create distance; they can become a reason to connect. And so, in the work, the Cyclops reaches out his hand and Tulikettu places her paw upon it. Not because the two worlds suddenly became the same, but because, for a moment, they chose to connect through their differences.

Thank goodness for art…