Although
we all enjoy a visit to the major museums, there’s also an allure in small
personal collections - acting as repositories of artifacts from the past,
collectors of memories, chroniclers of life.
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| Masset, BC |
I’ve
seen a tiny space in northern British Columbia, formerly a hospital, with the
beds (4) instruments and equipment used in medical treatment, preserved in
place as they looked over 100 years ago. And a few miles away, relics from a long
ago general store, from hardware and groceries in their original packages to a
few items of clothing, rubber boots and a smattering of things that defy
identification.
As
we get older and life gets more complicated, there’s an increasing interest in
how life was lived in simpler times. We may only want to visit rather than go
back - especially to the medical treatments - so these small brushes with
nostalgia are precious reminders of how we got to where we are.
Those
of us who are collectors (no, not hoarders, that’s a different thing) could all
set up personal museums and my friend Jussi has actually done it. He’s spent most of his life sailing in
different parts of the world and his intense interest in things maritime has
resulted in an amazing collection of objets.
Several rooms in the basement of his house have been transformed into a
welcoming space to pause and look, read and reflect among the materials on
show. 
It’s
curated with a lovely flow that leads the visitor from a corner of photos and
newspaper pieces about a young Finnish girl saved from the Titanic (the museum
is in Helsinki btw) to another with the landing card and immigration
details from Jussi’s father’s arrival by ship in Quebec City in 1922. Across the room
are two framed documents from Jussi’s sailing participation in the Olympics - Tokyo in
1964 and Mexico in 1968. |
| Binnacle from the Ariadne |
Outside the door to the museum, serving as an
introduction, is a large standing compass from the S/S Ariadne. She was seized by the
Russians as part of reparations after WWll and the Finns were ordered to deliver
the ship to Russia. The captain left on
Christmas Day 1944 and cannily ran the ship aground in a way calculated not to
do too much damage, returned her to Helsinki harbor and sent a less valuable
ship in her place. She lived out her time
in Finnish waters, retiring to warmer waters later in life.
The
collection has the advantage of being a collaborative affair (obsession some
might say) and probably no one in the family escaped an involvement of some
sort. If you’re thinking of doing a
project like this, it helps to have an expert in lighting on your team. The Maritime Museum bears the skilled stamp of Jenni, Jussi’s niece, who works lighting the
exhibitions at several Helsinki galleries and has contributed a touch of
coherence and style as well as
effectively illuminating the area….makes all the difference.
Since
the opening party (held on Mardi Gras) Jussi has welcomed several smaller
groups to see his show and plans to continue sharing his enthusiasm and stories from his remarkable life.
