JARMO MARKKANEN
Decoys or Images?In Finland, black grouse are hunted using fabric images and eider are hunted using wooden ones. It was the specialist Turkka Aaltonen who originally brought to Finland the idea of having decoys on sticks. Although a decoy is a kind of trap, it can also be used to attract birds for observation purposes. The most important feature of a decoy is not a realistic appearance but the fact that it is in the shape of a bird. According to the decoy maker, it is the eye which brings the figure to life. This art work is making a statement against the hunting of birds in the archipelago. I hope that these images will work in the opposite way from traditional decoys, inviting people to lay down their guns and look at nature with peaceful thoughts in mind.
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Jarmo Markkanen