The light artist Ekku Peltomäki, who spends the turn of the year in Finland, says that with age, the flow of life is already much calmer. He has also thought about retiring.
– I haven’t seen snow in 15 years.
Light artist living in Bali Ekku Peltomäki I especially miss the four seasons in Finland. The artist last visited Finland in April, when he also met his ex-wife Aira Samulin for the last time. The couple got married in 1973 in America, at Niagara Falls.
The duo’s last conversation can be seen in Peltomäki’s art, which will be seen in January at the Lux Helsinki event. Peltomäki worked actively in art until 2009, after that more sporadically.
Nowadays, the rhythm of life in Bali is calm, one of the reasons for this is the age of 77 years.
– I read quite a lot. When I was younger I liked the classics, now for some reason I’ve started reading detective stories more. My wife and I eat out a lot, it’s significantly cheaper than cooking. A portion can be around a euro, but it’s more expensive in tourist places, Peltomäki describes his everyday life.
Ekku and wife Sophie visited Bali’s hot springs in November. The couple is now planning their first joint trip to Finland. Ekku Peltomäki’s photo archive
He has thought for a long time whether he could start making light art in Bali as well.
– But nobody knows me there. I am 77 years old and I would start all over again. I’m afraid of that, you should do marketing and displays to get a name. Of course, you should know the right people, it would make things much easier.
– It would require quite a lot to get started. I’m speculating that life can’t always be a new beginning and something to do. I have somehow given up on the idea, if only I were a little retired.
Not a drop
Even though age is starting to show in the body and everyday life is calmer, it has always been important for Peltomäki to take care of his physical condition. Until the age of 75, he regularly ran even long runs.
– I have run away from myself, so to speak. A couple of years ago, I started having terrible cramps and weakness in my legs.
Although there have been krempos, the well-being is helped by the fact that the artist has completely given up alcohol again.
– If I drink one drink, I can’t control myself. It goes to the point that the drinking continues the next morning as well. The same pace can go on for a week, and I don’t remember anything from that time. Then there’s a three-day hangover and after that I could have gone months without drinking.
– Now I haven’t drunk a drop in four years. When I can’t even take a drop of it.
Aira and Ekku got married in 1973. Fred Ohert
Even though the pipes may have been wild at the time, according to Peltomäki, alcohol did not cause arguments in the relationship with Samulin.
– He could see that Aira didn’t like it anyway. Surely he mourned. You can’t tell a drunkard to change, it has to come from himself.
Language barriers in a relationship
Peltomäki and Samulin divorced in 2004, after which the artist lived alone for a long time.
– I didn’t have a single relationship with a woman before 2015. I was 11 years without anyone, without contact.
Then Peltomäki met Sophie in Bali.
Peltomäki got married Sophie Sahetapyn with in 2016 in Jakarta. The wedding couple was married in the presence of Sahetapy’s relatives. Peltomäki’s family and friends congratulated mainly with messages, because the flights to Jakarta would have been expensive.
The 27-year age difference doesn’t really affect the couple’s everyday life. The language barrier and occasional cultural differences bring problems to the relationship. Sahetapy, who is just graduating to become a pastor, is from Indonesia.
– When the mother tongue is not the same, absolutely everything cannot be told in the same way, feelings or deeper thoughts. That’s one obstacle, and we also come from different cultures.
– Verbal misunderstandings easily arise in it, that you misunderstand.
Peltomäki immediately adds that he will not compare his relationships.
– You can’t even compare anyone to Aira, I think it would be wrong to even take that line.
Sophie and Ekku posed for the camera at their wedding evening party in Jakarta in 2016. Ekku Peltomäki’s photo archive
After breaking up with Samulin, the artist didn’t think he would find new love again – at least not in Finland.
– Sometimes I wonder if I try to find someone in Finland, whether the other person has the cleanest flour in the bag, but Aira is quite a big thing in my past. I thought it was a problem in the relationship then, that comparisons and feelings of inadequacy come.
– In Bali, I noticed that this is a pretty good thing when Sophie doesn’t know my past. This has been easy.
Sahetapy and Samulin never met each other, but the dance legend was always interested in what was up with her ex-husband.
– They never met. I had an instinct that Aira wouldn’t want to, it wasn’t part of her morals.
– Yes, Aira was a bit curious when I visited here in Finland. And he was probably a little worried about how I was doing, laughs Peltomäki.
Despite the breakup, the relationship between Peltomäki and Samulin remained good until the end – when they could sometimes joke with each other.
– Airahan said that Ekku easily replaced him with someone 50 years younger!
Even after the breakup, the two remained friends and wanted to be on the map of each other’s affairs. Fred Ohert
Aira was a turning point
Peltomäki says that he realized in hindsight how significant a turning point Samuli was in his life in the end. He mentions the proposal as one of the most important memories.
– When I asked if you would be my wife and Aira agreed.
– After that I went for a run, I ran 30 kilometers pretty hard. That feeling had to be released somehow, good thing I didn’t die in that place. After that we went to buy rings, Peltomäki recalls.
The tension was compounded by the fact that Peltomäki had asked Samulin an important question many times before.
– Aira hesitated because of her ex-husband, who was quite violent towards Aira. Aira had sworn that she would never get married again, but then she promised.
– Yes, it was a turning point in my life, and perhaps the most important one.
After the proposal, Ekku Peltomäki went on a run of tens of kilometers. The wedding was celebrated a little later, in 1973. Fred Ohert