Tove Jansson’s partner Tuulikki Pietilä shot a lot of Super 8 films about their life on the small island, Klovharu. The end of summer and putting the island into winter condition and packing was a symbolic moment for the artist duo, as it meant moving away from the isolated peace of the island and back to Helsinki and everyday life.

The central place in the lives of Tove Jansson and Tuulikki Pietilä was Klovharu, a small and barren island in the Gulf of Finland, where they spent their summers from the 1960s onwards. Klovharu quickly became both a summer retreat and a centre of creative work for them. Pietilä’s Super 8 films are a valuable cultural heritage, as they not only capture the unique atmosphere and beauty of Klovharu, but also document the lives of a remarkable artistic duo.

Tove Jansson through Tuulikki Pietilä’s lens: Tove with her and Tuulikki’s cat Psipsina, 1972

Tove Jansson through Tuulikki Pietilä’s lens: Tove, 1973-1975

We don’t fish as much as we should, but it’s still a lot. The bottom is rocky, so the net gets caught, and when we finally get it pulled up it’s badly torn in places.

Tove Jansson & Tuulikki Pietilä
Notes from an Island

Tove Jansson through Tuulikki Pietilä’s lens: Klovharu, 1982

The end of summer on Klovharu was always a special and somewhat wistful time for Tove Jansson and Tuulikki Pietilä. Summer life on the island gradually began to show signs of autumn – around the cottage they had built, the sea breeze felt colder and the amount of daylight diminished. Year by year, packing became an important part of the end-of-summer ritual. It marked a farewell to the island that had provided them with inspiration and momentary peace for months. The things they had carefully organised and used over the summer now needed to be packed away or protected from the coming winter. The harsh year-round conditions in Klovharu demanded precision, and they had their own routines for preparing the house for the trials of the cold season.

The packing was a symbolic moment for the duo, as it meant moving back to the hustle and bustle of Helsinki. But while Jansson and Pietilä were organising their belongings, they could still enjoy the proximity of the sea. The sea that had been their friend and adversary throughout the summer. By the sea, they could experience the quiet promise that the island would be waiting for them again the following summer.

Tove Jansson through Tuulikki Pietilä’s lens: Tove in Klovharu packing up at the end of summer, 1983

The graphic artist and professor Tuulikki Pietilä filmed her partner Tove Jansson for hundreds of hours during their years together. She bought a Konica Super 8 camera in Japan during an around-the-world trip together with Tove. In summer, the Super 8 films captured moments on the island Klovharu, sometimes of Jansson’s artistic work and sometimes of them and friends together amidst the sea and nature. Check out the summer films and read more in our previous post.