Disa Wallander 

Artist statement

I am Disa Wallander (b.1988) and I’m from Sweden. I draw comics where I attempt to learn things without reaching any conclusions about anything. I don’t understand what I’m doing very well, and if I did I probably wouldn’t be half as interested in doing it. I like to work with a range of materials, and am curious about sculptural or photographic comics at the moment.


During my residency I am interested in working with found materials to explore different concepts of “foreignness.” I first started making comics when I was a foreigner while studying in the UK, an experience which informed my work fundamentally. In Helsinki I will be a foreigner again, and I would like to consider the possibilities of inventing a self through art and how the visitor or outsider state facilitates this transformation.
The residency is realised in collaboration with The Finnish Comics Society.