Nomada Q : forest

Vacations are usually the most awaited period of time for most of us who work throughout a hard year of work. Therefore, trips are planned in detail with a multitude of options.

Each one adapted to the tastes and profile of the traveler who longs for a trip to disconnect from his usual routine. Although sometimes there are exceptions that turn those days of relaxation into an adventure and the prelude to a work project that transforms the professional life of its protagonists.

Nick Olson photographer and his partner Lilah Horwitz, a designer by profession, embarked in the summer of 2012 on an odyssey that would later complement their business plan, becoming their life project, as well as a commitment to their environment.

Established in New York where they run a pop-up business where they offer their handmade designs to a diverse public, they decided to embark on a journey where applying their knowledge they would build a house with recycled materials where they could live an unforgettable experience.

THROUGH THE WINDOWS YOU LIVE THE FOREST

When after a long journey of hundreds of kilometers in their rickety vehicle they arrived at a forest located in the western mountains in the state of Virginia. A place that, due to its extraordinary landscapes, left these two intrepid travelers ecstatic. They did not hesitate for a second to settle in the middle of nature.

Among many other reasons was that there was nothing better than waking up in the morning and feeling the morning dew, in the warmth of a steaming coffee, so they decided to spend the rest of their vacation in a clearing in the forest. They built a cabin using the windows that they found by chance on their way, to which they later added the necessary furniture to create a cozy place to live in contact with nature and to be able to work avoiding the stress of the big apple.

READ IT IN SPANISH: La última tendencia pasar las vacaciones en una casa con ventanas recicladas

Although it is not a fixed residence, the house of the windows where they spend long periods of time has been acquiring the necessary conditions that guarantee its habitability. Attracted by their story, the audiovisual creators Matt Glass and Jordan Wayne moved with their recording team from their studio Half Cut Tea, living and filming the piece with the couple, a document where Olson and Lilah tell in testimony the reasons that led to the design of the houses of the windows and how their presence has contributed substantially in their professional facet.

Jaakko Pernu is a landscape sculptor of Finnish origin, who bases his work on techniques in which he reuses branches and plant debris, which he collects in the surroundings of the installation site, waste that after selecting them.

Making monoliths and geometric figures, which are inspired by the fragility of a landscape cut by curvilinear shapes. The specific interventions on the territory usually play with some contradictions or antithesis, such as: the light combined with the general shape of the elements that make up the landscape where it is intended to integrate.

Or in another sense in the aesthetics and contour as well as the texture, color and texture of the organic matter. Or even in the case of Jaakko in the subtle translucent forms, which contrast with a solid structure that as a whole conveys a message of commitment and communion with the natural environment.

His sculptures are often designed on a large scale, with which he achieves an immediate visual impact due to the great contrast with the territory in which he intervenes. With this method he gives his works of art a tangible reading as well as a poetic lyricism that establishes an equidistant point between the spartan and the creative of the landscape and its narrative performance.

NATURAL SCULPTURES REFLECTING THE POETRY OF THE LANDSCAPE

Brilliant works where the geometric shapes adapt like pieces of a puzzle fitting in a magical way with the peaks of the trees, as if they were the product of a natural process. Jaakko explores the influence of humans on nature and vice versa in an endless cycle as if it were a Moebius strip.

And where above any other consideration prevails innate intuition and a respect for the natural environment with which he establishes a dialogue, through which he tries to create a unique and complicit language. A language whose dialect is both universal and secret, and behind which there is a refined work, which explores the influence of human beings on nature and vice versa.

READ IT IN SPANISH: Jaakko Pernu, esculturas hechas con ramas que invocan lo ancestral

Jaakko's work is motivated by the artist's experiences, during his childhood in Finland, where he was always helping his father to build boats, manipulating wood into organic forms. That experience with creating elegant forms is reflected in his large-scale Land Art sculptures. Pernu's preferred working material being willow branches, which he weaves with his own hands.