MARKKU LAAKSOThe Red Mark 28.9.2007 – 21.10.2007

Fallen tree, Lappish girl and Elvis, 2007
oil on canvas
135 x 200 cm

The worlds and motifs depicted in my work often incorporate elements from history and from my own personal life. Along the years, I have come to realise that the colour red, my favourite since childhood, has always been present. It is not always the same red but I know exactly how to mix it for each piece. My red is like an old friend that I am happy to see when I paint. It is the red thread running through my work.

When I was a baby, I had a bright red birthmark on my forehead. I was branded with red at birth. It has been my only favourite colour since the very beginning, and I suspect what first attracted me was its clarity, intensity and aesthetic immediacy. The colour features in many elements that evoke strong emotions in me as a Lapp; sunsets, the northern lights, pitch wood and the turning of the leaves in the autumn, all of them symbolised by the red trim on the traditional Lappish dress. When I was a child, my nose was always quick to bleed. Blood red, in all its starkness, is beautiful.

Red is the colour of attention and has been used to express love, passion and ideology. It is apparently also the most common favourite colour, so I am clearly not alone with my preference. In my paintings, it could be seen as the colour of solidarity. As it is the colour of blood, it also signifies the bloodline; our inheritance, good and bad. In my work, red could also be taken to represent tolerance. No matter who and what we are, we all have red blood running through our veins - if only no one had to shed theirs to prove it.

Markku Laakso


 
  • laakso/2007/laakso-arktinen-hekkuma-06

    Arctic ecstasy, 2006
    oil on canvas
    90 x 130 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-arktinen-hekkuma-vaj

    Arctic ecstasy by the shed, 2006
    oil on canvas
    90 x 130 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-elvis-soutaa

    Elvis rows, 2007
    oil on canvas
    90 x 130 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-reunalla

    On the edge, 2005
    oil on canvas
    90 x 130 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-saunamatka

    On the way to the sauna, 2007
    oil on canvas
    90 x 130 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-sanna-ja-sanko

    Sanna with bucket, 2007
    oil on canvas
    90 x 130 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-uimari-maria

    Swimmer Maria, 2007
    oil on canvas
    90 x 130 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-lapintytto-ja-e-kaat

    Fallen tree, Lappish girl and Elvis, 2007
    oil on canvas
    135 x 200 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-lapintytto-ja-e-kopp

    Lappish girl and Elvis at Koppelo, 2004
    oil on canvas
    120 x 177 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-lapintytto-ja-e-ouna

    Lappish girl and Elvis at Ounasjärvi, 2007
    oil on canvas
    135 x 200 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-lapintytto-ja-e-peuk

    Lappish girl and Elvis at Peukalonvaara, 2004
    oil on canvas
    120 x 177 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-lapintyttoe-peukalo

    Lappish girl and Elvis at Peukalonjärvi, 2004
    oil on canvas
    120 x 177 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-lapintytto-ja-elvis-

    Lappish girl and Elvis by tree, 2007
    oil on canvas
    135 x 200 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-piilosta

    Hide and seek, 2007
    oil on canvas
    90 x 130 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-poutapaiva

    A fair day, 2007
    oil on canvas
    90 x 130 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-arktinen-hekkuma-tun

    Arctic ecstasy in the fells, 2006
    oil on canvas
    100 x 78 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-arktinen-hekkuma

    Arctic ecstasy by the fishnet rack, 2006
    oil on canvas
    78 x 78 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-sauna-triptyykki

    Sauna-trictych, 2007
    oil on canvas
    middle panel: 200 x 135 cm
    side panels: á 200 x 82 cm

  • laakso/2007/laakso-trivial-triptyykki

    Trivial-triptych, 2005
    oil on canvas
    middle panel: 160 x 132 cm
    side panels: á 132 x 80 cm

  • laakso/2007/GalleriaHeino181007-035382

    from series Topics, 2007
    oil on canvas
    á 24 x 33 cm

 
 
 
 
 
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