Mystic Life
Intro
Watch the world of my paintings
To receive a part of my heart
Should you choose to accept it
See into the smallest corners of my soul
If you only dare to peek in
The doors are open, into my paradise
Let the lilies embrace you
The meadow flowers, whispering their secrets
Feel the delicate touch of their petals
A tiny butterfly flies to you
Sharing her message
Seize the day!
Johanna Oras
Life is A Mystery
One of the passions of an artist is to exceed herself, time after time. To create a multilevelled and challenging composition, a painting that is simultaneously controlled and influential. The background of this work lies in the eternal want of a man to dominate, to use power. Throughout the history, we make the same mistakes, again and again.
The curtain has been drawn; the table is loaded with symbolism. The bowl of fruit reminds us about the well of life; the bottle of wine, the rose and the ring croon about love. The pomegrenades sing about passion, the compass gives us a direction. And a tiny touch of homeland; the Mari bowl and a few pieces of marmalade…
The candelabra holds seven candles; that is the magical figure of perfection. And on the floor is the Magic Lamp of Aladdin; when you rub it, three of your wishes come true. But make your wishes wisely – life is the greatest of all riddles!
I Surrender
As an aesthete, I follow different trends and phonomena very closely. I love all the different fashion houses and their creations; fashion shows are great spectacles and performances and they often inspire me.
In this paintings the still life is not still but moving; the keyboards reach for the skies, like the staircase of life. The white flag is decorated with Louis Vuitton symbols – it flies in the wind and declares; I surrender!
The music is present, the movement is there.
Can you hear the melody? Do you recognize the song?
Like a Candle in the Wind
Like the song of the same title, this work is also about farewell. Me and my family, we had decided to move back to Finland from southern France where I had lived and worked for eight years. This is the last work I painted in France – hence the sadness of adieu and the longing.
But every departure is a step towards new winds and altough at the time, back in the day, I said “Au revoir, Gagnes-sur-Mer” – I also I knew I would return, many times.
Black on White
Movies are a tremendous and continuous source of inspiration to me – I watch a lot of them, from new Hollywood mainstream block-busters to small indie films and old black-and-white classics.
And just like a cinematographer and a film director, an artist can paint with colors, but also, play with colorlessness. In this work I wanted to study what happens, when different structures and patterns meet?
Can you hear the dialogue between the zebra pelt and the apricot parrot?