I paint pictures. These images arise from an examination of the world and its representations. Small everyday observations are mixed with reflections on looking, painting and building an image: the subject of my work is equally the art of painting itself, its history, the physical properties of the paint, the painting as an object. The image and paint often imitate each other.

I say I paint pictures because for me these pictures are by no means just an excuse for painting. Images affect us more deeply than we think. Even before we grew up as adults, images flooded from different media have provided us with a mold for every possible situation in our lives. Images create and trigger images that guide our attitudes toward momentary events. An incomprehensibly complex network of meanings emerges, in which the personal mixes with the collective. That’s why I’m trying to build my image from memory, not a model.

That’s why there are no photos on the walls of my office. I look at people, the world and the images that represent it, both painted and others. I would rather observe, infer, and remember. This is how my paintings are built from lines, colors and proportions. How I paint is pre-defined in my sketch and plan. However, my pictures are not new. Even though I drew them “from my head,” often they kind of already existed.

The horizon is the last limit of visibility.
The horizon is the illusion of a horizontal line that separates the earth and the sky.
The works in my exhibition are connected by a horizontal line that connects them like a pearl necklace.

– Henni Alftan

The exhibition has been supported by the Arts Promotion Center and the Oskar Öflund Foundation.