The Divided Man Looks into the Flower of Glass

One of the most pressing problems of modern man is his own identity. Old static perceptions and interpretations of individuals and the world no longer apply to the rapidly changing physical and mental reality. Also the image of the self has to change -can this any longer happen in a controlled fashion?

This is also a situation portrayed by Mr. Weckstrom: a divided man looks into the flower of glass. The relationship to nature is becoming very multifaceted. Technology pollutes, artificial realities push their way in to substitute the original relationship to nature. Genetic DNA-codes are already being mastered, the tricks to cease power over evolution are within reach of humanity.

Bjorn Weckstrom's sculpture "Free fall" shows a person falling into unlimited cosmic space, there is no ground nor horizon. The first space travellers of our time were floating around in weightlessness, like embryos inside the womb, before birth. The visual similarity may have a symbolic dimension: mankind is about to be born into something, which still has no form or name. Already in Mr. Weckstrom's sculptures in acrylic resin, there is a floating spirit of new worlds.

Man implements his dreams. The artist is responsible for his visions, for seeing the truth, the image of Man. The message of art has often a secret dimension into the subconscious and into the future. Icarus must fly - always! The artist is now, more than ever, requested to have greater courage and faith in Man. To this challenge Bjorn Weckstrom answers through a unique force: His works speak of a mystical union of beauty and truth: the enigma.

Ilkka Juhani Takalo-Eskola