It might feel like your ending up on this page was by mere coincidence.
But was it really?
Or was it perhaps fate that had you landing here? Some form of predestination or serendipity?
These are matters that should thought about most carefully.
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Let us however not preoccupy ourselves with such pondering right now. Instead, please allow us to tell you about the art project that is the reason this page exists in the first place. But please pay attention, since it might get a little bit complicated.
You see, the story of how our message-in-a-bottle came about is not one story, but two.
The first of the stories is one about a sea voyage — of how four friends paddled for ten days and one night to reach a lighthouse somewhere far away.
At the heart of this story lies the desire to learn what lies on the other side of the horizon. In its essence it is the story of the characteristic most central to humanity: The need to learn about that which lies just beyond our reach and the endeavor to attain it.
There is nothing particularly heroic or even special about our little journey, but this should not be seen as a fault. Meaning is not born so much out of uniqueness as out of the feeling of uniqueness.
Kate Harris illustrates this point beautifully when she writes about cycling as follows:
“Exploration, more than anything else, is like falling in love: the experience feels singular, unprecedented, and revolutionary, despite the fact that others have been there before. No one can fall in love for you, just as no one can bike the Silk Road or walk the moon for you. The most powerful experiences aren’t amenable to maps. Nor are they amenable to words, at least when you’re too out of breath to say much at all.”
When we left the the shores of Brändö we knew not what to expect. Except that rain, cold, fatigue, and the occasional pangs of hunger would probably play a part in it. But even this exertion felt like pure joy compared to the tedious and uneventful life on land.
It has been said that ships are safe in the harbour, but that is not what ships are for. It is the uncertainty of how the sea will treat us that keeps us attached to land. But at the same time it is this uncertainty that attracts us to leave the safety of the shore.
For one who has even just once danced on the waves there is no return to the rigidity of the solid ground.
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The second of the stories that helped turn this project into a tangible reality is one of good fortune as well.
In the spring of 2018 a small book we had written was awarded two prestigious prizes: It was selected to be the most beautiful book published in Finland in 2017 and was awarded the comic book Finlandia-prize.
Contrary to how such commendations usually work, one of these distinctions came not only with glory, but with a small sum of money as well.
As the money came to us out of the blue, unrequested and unanticipated, we quickly concluded that it was not meant for us alone. Rather it was to be cherished together with others.
So we wrote a small letter, and Kaisa illustrated it.
Then, with the help of friends all over the world, we hid these messages-in-a-bottle all around coastal areas. The idea was to let Lady Luck decide who would get to read about our adventure.
Who would find them was not for us to decide, nor whether they would read our letter.
Still, we longed to know where our gifts had turned up, and that is why we created this website: To gather the photos and stories of those who reached out to us after finding our artwork.
So there you have it, that is our story in a nutshell. We sincerely hope this project will have brought with it as much joy as we have experienced while making it come true!
Yours,
Jonne, Miikka, Kaisa & Christoffer