Skulpturer

The Curious, Marvellous World of Tommi Toija

Talk runs rampant these days about world globalization and the invincibility of prevalent market forces. Quick wireless communication is the norm, meaning that ideas are exchanged instantaneously and news is real time.  It is now easier than ever to keep in contact with family and friends, by phone or the Internet. Yet loneliness and isolation are still major problems of our time. At what point did we lose sight of the basic unit of our society: the individual? What about his or her life?  These are among the basic questions Tommi Toija ponders in his art.

Since 2003, when he created his first 32 cm tall sculpture ‘Little Coward’, Tommi Toija has sculpted his own poetic world. Here little boys and girls and little old men are tossed around by the twists and turns of life as the artist ponders existential questions of the human race. No texts with theoretical concepts here. With this work the debate begins with life, or rather several different experiences of life, and a gift for keen perception.

In these sculptures, the viewer is able to sense and experience the fundamental philosophical questions that the artist brings to the stage. Each sculpture is like an aphorism, crystallizing an important question about our existence. The activities of the little human figures are varied. They stick out their tongues; sit in a pool of pee, blow bubbles or bubble gum balls and pee in the gutter. They are depressed, they show jubilation and sorrow. They are sweet, defiant, loving, headstrong or just there. Sometimes they project a sense of protest, even a spark of anarchy. Often they express warm hearted humour.  Toija’s world is all about what is natural and everyday. Examined from a poetic and discreet angle, he is not afraid to be coarse, sometimes insolent in his implications.

The sculptured figures may be similar physically – short legs, large heads and round eyes, and upon first sight the viewer may consider the work as a series, but each of them is an individual visual entirety. They are a series in the sense that each piece represents a version of the artist as he sees himself, self-portraits. In reality, each sculpture is a carefully considered figure, born of a process. Some are born after much consideration and sculpting, with others, chance has entered the process and offered a new solution to a three-dimensional problem. The work is originally brown ceramic, but the finishing work is often several layers thick -consisting of paint, sanding and scraping. The final result is always a balanced work of art with a detailed and fine-tuned surface structure.

The centre of Toija’s world is his intimate work studio, his ‘birthing room’. It is filled with tools, machines and equipment. Sculptures surround the area, some are whole, some are broken, some are stripped, half-finished and some are complete. The ‘mess’ of his working space inspires his creativity. Toija is an artist that needs a lot of his work around him, both old and recently finished, when he creates. Sculpture pieces can be found here and there; sometimes combining them creates a new figure.

Through his human figures Tommi Toija sharply and maturely analyzes our existence in a manner that is rich in nuances, often universal, even global. For this he has a solid foundation as a family man, a father.

Roger Gustafsson  Curator / Art Historian