Vivi Mari Carpelan

Being Real is your Best Service to the Universe

 I am a Finnish-Swedish symbolist artist from Helsinki and Hanko, Finland. In 2010 I married visionary artist Martin Herbert and relocated to Mid-Wales, the United Kingdom.

I spent the 1990s studying art in France as well as the science of religions at the university of Helsinki. I received my MA degree in 1999. During this time I read all of Ken Wilber and established my world view / belief system. I also established myself as a symbolist artist with a keen interest in the more shadowy parts of our existance. Due to health issues, I went from drawing/painting to working with collages. While the former is a form of monologue, the latter is more of a dialogue between myself and the found images provided by the collective of the past.

Gradually, as I am settling into my new life and regaining strength after such a big leap, I hope to take my art to a new level. My artist partner Martin Herbert and I are planning extensive collaboration, as we believe this will help us evolve further as artists and individuals. Among other things, we hope to explore gender issues in a deeper, integral way. I am working on an autobiographical book about my journey, but also have other smaller projects on the go that involve explaining my art as well as using it to illustrate some burning issues. The focus is mainly on my personal health challenges, spiritual quest, and still to some extent the relationship dramas that come with the human condition.

Yet most importantly, integration of the dissociated parts of the psyche and hopefully a maturing and (at the end) completion  of the life task of which I've always had a keen sense. Through my art and writing, I do hope to be a mirror in which people find themselves and their purpose. 

My art work is presented here at the art gallery. Please visit my website at www.vivimaricarpelan.com, In my art blog I discuss my decision to join the Disability Arts as well as the process of making art that is relevant for the highlighting of social issues faced by people with invisible illness. I also comment on contemporary art (with all its myriad of problems) and talk about leading an aesthetically pleasing lifestyle. In my spiritual blog I post less often but there is a range of articles that talk about my involvement with the integral movement as well as my personal strife and battle with Shadows. Thank you for your interest.