Mats Andersson is published in the Dutch photo-magazine Natuurfotografie, december 2024
White, The Universe, Picasso and Miro
I'm sitting at home on the couch. Outside it is full winter, but inside it is nice and warm – in this last month of the year. It is dark. We live in southern Sweden, in the middle of the forest. The last house on a winding dirt road. The nearest neighbor is the dark forest. The cold outside makes the over 100-year-old house talk to me. It gives me both questions and answers. An old wooden house that lives, communicating in creaks caused by the cold outside and warmth inside. Strong wind and rain mixed with snow make the view outside the old windows look like an impressionist painting by Monet. Blurry and beautiful. I am reading an article in a Swedish photography magazine where the American photographer Minor White is mentioned. A well-known photographer to me - but I completely missed his picture series "The sound of one hand" which I am now reading about. I get curious. I search the title online and find a book with the picture series, and immediately order it. Once the book arrives in the mail and I get to see the pictures, I'm completely hooked. These are exactly the kind of pictures I'm drawn to. Pictures that ask questions. Pictures that move me. Images that are dark and difficult to interpret. Images that can be compared to abstract motifs from my artistic sources of inspiration such as Picasso and Miro. And at this moment my new project begins. In the middle of the cold, dark winter, White's photographs light up and make me start working hard with my new project "Is There Anybody Out There?"
I read more articles about White. He taught his students to face the motifs with the calmness and focus of meditation, and to trust the underlying mental process. The title “The sound of one hand” on White's picture series - is a famous Zen Buddhist riddle. Zen Buddhism's view of art at the turn of the century differed greatly from traditional art. In the West, artists strove to make accurate depictions, while in the Eastern tradition, one painted a mood. So, I had been working on creating my images according to the Eastern tradition without knowing it for so many years. My mood has always been in control of how my motifs and images turn out.
Do not create motives for others
The places I create my images are often small, limited areas here in the forest where I live. I often choose a place that has no given motif. Find your peace. Let it take time. The motives are there! Don't try to go around and search for motifs that you think others will like. Often, these images also become images that others have already made. But stay there and let the frustration drain out of you. Finally, the motifs will come...
Cold and ice important components
In my new project, ice is an important component. One of the first pictures I take is during a forest walk with my partner Nina and our dog Orvar. I have no plans to create images - I don't even have my Leica camera with me. I get a glimpse of something white deep in the snarling spruce forest. I investigate it closer and suddenly, time and space stand still. An alien is apparently buried there. I completely forget my surroundings. I take out my iPhone and start shooting. The only thing that can be heard is the wind creating movement in the trees and a raven cawing far away. I'm completely enthralled by the motif - is it really coincidence that could create this? A psychological phenomenon called Pareidoli is when you see faces or figures in objects or clouds. This is “my” diagnose.
On thin ice
The weeks go by and 2023 becomes 2024, winter is even harsher. I am home alone, early morning. The thermometer shows -18° Celsius. I open the blinds and am greeted by a work of art created from ice on the old window. It is completely dark outside. I enjoy a warm coffee and light breakfast – before I am off to a lake 3 km from my house. This will be the place today to create more images for my new project. I put on my cross-country skates and safety equipment such as rope and ice spikes. The ice on the lake in front of me is completely black, but despite the cold night, some parts are still wet. I go out and thrust my ice pick hard down to make sure the ice is thick enough. Already after about 15 minutes of skating, I find interesting motifs. I create images that are reminiscent of the Universe. Incredibly fascinating. A little further out, the ice is significantly thinner and when I use the ice pick it goes through and water seeps up. Time to turn around. Skating like I am floating back home on the ice, I can't stop thinking about the motifs I found out there. But it is too dangerous to go there as the ice is too thin. A few weeks go by and from having been -18° cold it becomes 3-4 plus degrees. The ice is melting. Going out on skates is unthinkable. I bring my drone and fly over the lake to the place where I last saw the intriguing motifs. Now that I'm safe on dry land, I can look up the motifs in peace and quiet. Here I find my Universe. Here I create images that ask questions. Pictures that move people. Images that are dark and difficult to interpret. Images that can be compared to abstract motifs from my artistic sources of inspiration White, Picasso and Miro.