In 2022, Petter Hartzell moved to the countryside alone and without a car to focus on his own projects, leaving behind the so-called rat race. Alongside writing, Hartzell’s need to realize his ideas using recycled materials, mainly paper, has found space and inspiration in his daily life in the village of Teijo. His background includes a long period as a kindergarten teacher and a substitute social educator, and for a brief time, a makeup artist. Hartzell notes that he has always been particularly fascinated by faces.
In his work, Hartzell wants to give faces to nature, creating, for example, human-like trees and mushrooms with faces, both as hanging pieces and paper sculptures. As he ages and approaches retirement, Hartzell feels immense gratitude for this new passion to create and develop. His early, smaller works have already been showcased in exhibitions at local restaurants.
Curators’ comments: ”Hartzell transforms recycled papier-mâché into stunning, entirely unprecedented works. The astonishingly lifelike surfaces of the sculptures and the eco-friendly approach beautifully deepen the works’ strong connection to nature.”