Suomen ämminkäiset värikuvina
My debut children's book, written and illustrated by me, published by S&S in 2021. Prints of the illustrations were also presented in an exhibition at Galleria Kuvitus along with some additional paintings on wood and an installation.
How on earth do street lamps break? If you ask grownups these questions, they often just go, “I don’t really know” or “They just do”. The reason for this is that they have not heard of awelings (or "ämminkäinen" in Finnish).
You cannot blame grownups for not knowing about them, for these creatures are extremely difficult to spot. In fact, it is impossible to see them, because they are masters of hiding – but not seeing something does not disprove its existence.
Suomen ämminkäiset värikuvina ("The Illustrated Book of Awelings") is an enchanting book about awelings living in cities, who offer explanations for humming pipes, broken kerbstones, splashes on walls and noisy traffic lights. The book, written as a catalogue, introduces the creatures with spellbinding names who leave these footprints: amplius, shackhie, hazeantler, jemmyvaulter…
With tips and tasks, the readers are taught to spot the most fascinating phenomena in an urban environment. Never before has a children’s book presented stony cities in such spellbinding guise!