Statement:

Sanna Annukka’s painting renders elemental imagery — the sun, moon, rock, and water into primal form and abstract pattern. These forms, in combination with subtle colour shifts, produce works that create a sense of natural materials and restful harmony. 

Her work draws on ancient belief systems that have revered these ever present phenomena throughout human history, finding significance in the rhythms of the natural world such as solstice, equinox, sunrise and sunset and the phases of the moon. 

Compositionally many of Sanna’s paintings take on totemic or talismanic forms, invoking the power and significance that these symbols have held across cultures and time periods.

Surface texture forms a paramount facet of Annukka’s process and through the repetitive layering of printed, scraped and sanded paint, an intricate tapestry of texture evolves, echoing the rugged landscapes that often inspire the work. This concern for surface texture conjures a sense of the timeless permanence of weathered stone and evokes a sense of ancient structures built by long forgotten ancestors. 

Whilst her long relationship with pattern is further pushed from figurative forms into explorations in abstraction, many compositions still retain an echo of the figurative, for they often hint at an elemental ‘entity’ of some kind, albeit symbolic or totemic one. 

The resultant compositions feel almost archetypal, as if one is looking at a divine schema or primordial blueprint — there is a sense of something familiar that nevertheless remains just out of reach.

Annukka’s work is an invitation to connect with the universality of natural forms, for no matter where or, indeed when we lived, we can find common ground by the ability to appreciate such a simple joy as turning toward the sun and feeling its warmth on our upturned faces.

Bio:

British/Finnish artist Sanna Annukka studied at the University of Brighton, where she discovered a passion for printmaking which has informed much of her subsequent practice. Growing up, many childhood summers were spent north of the Arctic circle and these formative experiences instilled a love and reverence for the rawness of the natural world which is an ever present force in her work.

Graduation led to a successful career as a freelance illustrator, working with clients like Vogue, Island Records, Selfridges and Nordstrom. She has illustrated three books, The Fir Tree, The Snow Queen, and The Nutcracker; classic fairy tales, published by Penguin Random House and translated into seven different languages. 

In 2008 Sanna joined the roster of designers for Finnish textile and fashion brand Marimekko, designing patterns for interiors and homeware. The same year she was invited by the Finnish Design Museum to create huge textile wall hangings for their exhibition ‘FennoFolk - a collection of new nordic oddity.’

Her recent work sees a return to the organic process she fell in love with in the print studios at university. Her paintings take the form of elaborate mono prints, building patinas with layers of ink by printing onto board or canvas. This mode of working was informed by her time making ceramics and takes inspiration from the organic, earthy glaze finishes she explored during this period of working in relief.