To the grille, Satanen Perkele!

To know why this interview is called this way, visit:
http://revistaobscuridaddenoviembre.blogspot.com/2013/11/to-grille.html
 
To read this interview in spanish, visit http://revistaobscuridaddenoviembre.blogspot.mx/2014/01/satanen-perkele-la-reja.html

“Satanen Perkele” is a young female from Sweden. A female that has a big attraction and love to the darkness. She expresses her feelings in different ways with drawings, photography and sometimes with videos.

A Black Metal-head girl with a lot of art. She focuses on Nordic mythology, forests, abandoned houses, satanic symbols, facial paint and…Well, with a lot of things and a creative mind she is always up for something. I met her because of one of her cartoon characters named “Ragnar”, which is the main character from her funny Black Metal comic called “For You Satan!”

Asura: Thank you for your time. It’s really a honor to have such a great artist with us. Could you please share with us your beginnings? Any influence?

Satanen: Hello there and thank you for choosing me!

I feel deeply honoured to have been invited to this interview.

My biggest influence of my work beside Scandinavian mythology, Black Metal music and the occult has been myself. My real name is Cecilia and I was born here in Sweden 1991. I have had a hard life growing up on the isolated countryside, surrounded by nature and forests. During my whole childhood I was as good as constantly secluded from seeing other people. This made it hard for me to manage getting friends, so my best friends always used to be the paper and the pencil.

Ever since I was a small child I started to draw constantly. When I was a little older I spent 7 years in a local art class. When I was old enough for high school I spent 1 year in art class, quitted and went to another school where I spent 3 years in media, design and movie making.

A: What’s the inspiration or your muse to create your work?

S: Ancient myths, the occult and the unknown is a great inspiration for me.

I like to be creative and bring life into old myths and draw things that are not very common. I also like to inspire people with my work.

A: How is the situation of the art in Sweden? Do the people like it and support the artist or do they just ignore them? How do you feel about this situation?

S: Art in Sweden in general is quite popular. In each city you find artists of all kinds.

Mostly art is allowed to be shown in public as long it’s not too grotesque. But it all depends on the artists work, the Swedish artist “Lars Vilks” for example created a huge debate since his art got very provocative outside of Sweden.

As for myself I have been asked several times to be a part of artistic events and to show my art in public. So there are always people who are interested.

A: In the art, the message that the people receive may not the same that the artist wants to share. Do you have a message or something special that you want to share to the world, and that nobody has seen yet?

S: In mostly of my work I try to deliver a Scandinavian feeling. Myself I find it important because I want people to recognize my work by that raw atmosphere.

And I personally think I have succeeded quite well since there are many people on the web who recognize me and my art these days. Which I appreciate a lot!

A: Any artist or person that you admire or look up to?

S: It’s hard to say since there are many other great artists out there.

But I really like artist who have a dark touch in their artwork.

Above all your work, my favorite is your comic “For You Satan!”, but do you have any favorite work?

S: My favorite work for the moment is my medieval inspired demon drawings.

I really find them entertaining to draw and also the support from my followers has been very positive.

A: Do you make art in other forms besides photography, drawings and videos? Which? Do you dance and sing? (I want to see that in a video!)

S: Besides what’s already mentioned I also like to experiment with designing tattoos, 3D art and animation. And since I am not that girly, I never had much interest into dancing or singing. But I have a huge appetite for new challenges and artistic creativity.

A: Are you working for any company right now or are you freelancer?

S: Because of the severe job crisis I don’t have any job for the moment.

But whatever job there is available I’ll take it.

A: Could you share us a little bit about your personal spirituality? How did you find it, is it making you plenty?

S: I have always believed in the supernatural. And I have been a follower of the left hand path for many years now. Satanism holds lots of power and also contains great inspiration. (But I am not going to go much deeper into that subject).

A: I read somewhere that when the christians tried to convince your people, they used the system of the fear of hell, a place plenty of heat, and instead of becoming christians, the ancient people requested the ways to arrive there. Also, I find a lot of similarities between the ancient religion of the nordic people and the believes of the modern demonism and Satanism. Do you think that is the reason that the Satanism is very strong in your zone of the planet?

S: It’s hard to say. But for Scandinavian people a Hell with eternal heat is something wonderful, since Scandinavia are mostly lacking from sunlight and heat.

During the Viking age the people believed in a place called HEL which was the actual Hell in Norse mythology. But as an opposite from the burning Hell, HEL was a dark and freezing place. Because that was the most horrible thing a Scandinavian person ever could imagine. To forever suffer in a dark and cold place.

I think that the connection you see between Norse mythology and Satanism is much about Scandinavian pride and Patriotism. After all, the Norse belief got as good as extinct because of the church.

A: There are also a lot of christians, catholics, and protestants, how is the situation of the religion where you live?

S: Majority of the Swedish people are actually atheists. Like me I grow up in a atheist family. But if you wish to believe in something or to be connected to a religion you have the right to do that.

A: I think that the five Scandinavian countries (Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark) have too much in common and that they could join forces to become a superpower (I have also suggested you that “For You Satan!” should have a member of each country). They are in the top 10 of the best of everything. Do you think that is possible?

S: Yes, At least Sweden, Norway and Denmark have very much in common. Even our languages are quite similar which makes it easy for us to understand each other.

We are a little like brothers and sisters.

Since my first “For You Satan” comic strip (that was made back in 2008) I say it is not too late to eventually include more characters in the future. But for the moment I already have 3 characters that represent Sweden, Finland and Norway.

A: At this moment you are young enough to have goals, and big enough to achieve them. What are your goals at this moment?

S: Majority of my life have been focused on drawing.

And I wish to continue with my art and my “For You Satan” comic as long as there are people who support and like what I do.

A: Where can people contact you, and in which languages?

S: If someone wishes to contact me they can write to me in English, Swedish, Danish or Norwegian. Usually you find me on Deviantart, Youtube and Facebook. Later on I am planning to create a website, but for urgent contact I also have an email. (Deleted to avoid spam, but it is available in her Deviantart profile).

A: Any final message to the readers?

S: I am not a person who asks for much. But to all the people who feel like contacting me, read my comic or view any of my art are welcome. And I want to thank everyone out there who believe in me and supports me.