Mikael spent much of his childhood as an Anglo-Catholic chorister
and altarboy and dual British/Finnish nationality led to him
to serve in the Finnish Navy in his early twenties. This exposure
to ritual and ceremonial has left a strong impression on his working
practice as a sculptor. He draws on his upbringing and
experiences, making links between religion and the military
and the hypocrisies that often lie therin.
His works subvert the iconography of the
public monument. Bastardisations of familiar objects
initially strike the viewer as playful, irreverent pieces. But on
closer inspection they reveal more unsettling meanings. The
noble posture and impressive symbolism that characterises
public sculpture is examined, exposed and challenged, producing
a bizarre new aspect.
Trained as a traditional figurative sculptor and
mouldmaker at Wimbledon School of Art. Today he seeks
new relevance in seemingly outmoded sculptural
techniques.
Mikael lives and works in London.