Nina Rantala

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In 2006 I was invited to be a part of an exhibition, Norse Ferry Tales, which dealt with people’s travels, their relocation, and the local cultural implications of this phenomenon. The exhibition was to take place in Western Norway on different ferries and piers. I chose to present my work on the M/F Stryn which navigated between Mannheller and Fodnes.

I lived aboard the ferry for two weeks and made drawings on the skin of the crew of M/F Stryn. I drew variations of classical sailor tattoos. The subjects of the drawings came from the men’s stories and their everyday life onboard the Ferry. “True Romance” consists of 35 prints of my skin drawings using already existent frames throughout the Ferry as well as a separate space which I covered with wooden panels painted with tar. Big photographs about skin and the smell of tar created an unexpected contrast within the Ferry’s usually sterile interior.

Drawing on skin is very intimate and physical. The skin is the outmost extension of the human body between man and the universe. Through his/her skin a person becomes real to another. You can’t make a drawing closer to somebody than when drawing on to ones skin. The situation has a sacral and silent touch. The drawing process involves sharing and trust.

By installing “True Romance” on the ferry, my intention was to present to passengers the romantic aspect of the history of navigation, ships and ferries, as well as highlight the men who work on ferries today. The men working on these ferries, following a historic tradition, have left rural fjord areas in order to become sailors. Even now the majority of the crew members were former sailors but had no tattoos. Times have changed. Transoceanic voyages have been replaced by 20-minute return trips.

The title, “True Romance”, refers to the romantic illusion which people have about sailors sailing the “Seven Seas”, getting tattooed in overseas ports. Through the photographs of “True Romance”, the crewmembers reflected their own identity as the crew of a ferry, the unique nature of their work as well as their personal histories.

Norse Ferry Tales was organized by the Nordic Artist’s Centre in Dale. It took place in ferries and piers in Western Norway from August 17, 2006 to April 10, 2007. Among the artists included were Anders Tomren (N), Finnbogi Petursson (IS), Hanne Tyrmi (N), Frans Jacob (DK), Juha van Ingen (FIN).