Artist Q&A: Sari Nordman

[Editor’s Note]: Writer Dan Wood recently spoke with artist Sari Nordman to hear more about her work and upcoming projects. This is the first in an ongoing Q&A series about artists in Westchester County.

Sari Nordman is an interdisciplinary artist who brings awareness to environmental and social justice issues through her works. Nordman, who is originally from Finland, traveled to the United States where she received her master’s in dance from NYU. After working as a dancer and choreographer, Nordman decided to shift gears into dance videos, which spurred her first interdisciplinary installation, Tower. In addition to dance, Nordman’s interests include photography, sculpting and costume design, as well as welding, a skill she developed during the pandemic.

Dan Wood (DW): How would you describe your current work?

It’s environmental, interdisciplinary, and includes social engagement and advocacy work. With my work, I want to help amplify voices from around the world and I want viewers to experience a unified voice. All of this emphasizes the need for healing nature so we can heal ourselves. That’s my mission for my work, especially the Tower project, which is multilingual. I want more people to connect with it and guide that connection so people feel that someone is talking in their language or speaking to them from their native country.

Sari Nordman (SN): Tell me more about your Tower project.

After a trip in Greece, I had a vision in which I saw a tower, and I saw it falling…and I wanted to make that falling tower. I realized that before I could actually make a falling tower, I had to build a tower. I started building with an architect who helped me engineer the sculpture.

So, I made this tower to frame plastic waste. That’s when I saw the potential for the plastic screens that I hung up on the tower to work as projection or video screens. I knew that it had to be something climate related and environmentally related. I had been thinking of this biblical tower, the Tower of Babel. I felt like there had to be interviews from around the world speaking in different languages, it had to be multilingual and people talking about their personal experiences with climate change.

At the time, there was a lot of science denial in terms of climate change, so I felt like people were still noticing big changes in the environment. Noticing the summers were longer and the winters were milder. There was barely any snow and then there were fires and flooding. So, people were anticipating and noticing changes…To date, I have interviewed more than 60 people speaking in 35 different languages. It’s an ongoing project and now I am developing a photo format.

DW: What inspires your work?

SN: Nature is a big inspiration, and [working] in these different communities and engaging with people from all around the world. Sometimes it’s been a lot of fun and sometimes it’s been a little painful. Some people have had horrific experiences where they have seen very violent climate events. There’s a lot of feelings associated with the process of this project. I am so grateful that so many people have trusted me with their stories. That feels amazing.

DW: How did you get into environmental advocacy?

SN: There’s a lot of research on how the climate is changing. Coming from Finland, I’ve noticed a lot of changes and I think it’s really alarming that climate change is not the front-page news, at least not enough. I feel like, as an artist I can help people connect. Art provides these different entry points in understanding and learning about things. In some ways I have a duty to do this. Also, nature has always been so important to me, I want to see it protected for generations.

DW: How has travel influenced your work?

SN: When I started traveling to Greece, going to see different archaeological sites, I was at a turning point in my career, transitioning from dance to film and more interdisciplinary work. When I travel outside of New York, I seek nature because I need that quiet place…a meditative place, where I feel like I can think more long term and think about my goals and also what’s important. I feel like it’s very important for me to connect in this world. All my travels are to nature.

DW: What is your favorite aspect of your work?

SN: Connecting with nature is a big part of my process, as well as sharing that passion with the interviewees. It also has to do with wanting to do something about climate change and the environmental problems that come with it. Then, [connecting that] to social justice. Most people who have experienced the worst of climate changes have come from marginalized communities and they have been made to flee their homes and cannot cultivate the land. So, how the work ties together environmental justice and social justice is one of my favorite aspects of my work.

DW: How has your background in dance and film influenced your current work?

SN: I still think about movement and that organic space. Dance is so much about the body and being organic. So, I think that ties into awareness of nature and the environment. That original idea for Tower and framing plastic waste, was seeing that plastic moving in the wind. That movement was the original inspiration for that work. Seeing plastic in motion and hearing that sound that I can’t stand. Then seeing that framed and sculpted, [and made into] plastic rugs. They are kind of soluble and then I fold them. They have this motion, and the colors are very vibrant because it’s plastic… Movement still inspires my work. My family has always been amateur photographers, so I have always thought about the visual composition that translates to my current work.

________________________________________________________

After receiving his BA in Media Arts, Daniel Wood went back to SHU for his MA in Journalism and Media Production. He has played trumpet in various bands and was surrounded by artists and writers growing up, which led to his interest in writing about various creative topics.