My scratch works often have vanitas symbolism, from which I can draw endlessly interesting motifs. Among other things, bones, orchids and birds fascinate me both aesthetically and through their various cultural meanings. You can say that there is a certain melancholy in my works. In recent years, the core of my work has been the study of melancholy as an artistic tool and source of inspiration.
The challenging nature of the scraping technique fuels the focus on the working process. The mark made on the image surface with a scraper cannot be erased, so the themes must be planned and composed precisely in advance. The balance of light and shadow is essential element in scratchboard works. If too much white is revealed under the black surface, the shadow will disappear which causes the form to break.
Kirsi-Marja Moberg is an artist who combines many media and moves in the interface between visual art and literature. As a visual artist, she mostly works with scratchboard technique. In addition to writing and performance poetry, she makes poetry videos that combine poetry performances and video art. Moberg is completing her Master of Arts studies at Aalto University.
Photo: Detail from Kirsi-Marja Moberg’s artwork Memento Mori.