Maria Björklund

Maria Björklund (b. 1970) has been working as a animation film maker, comics artist and illustrator since 1994. She is a founding member of the animation company Animaatiokopla (www.animaatiokopla.fi) established in 2004.

As an animation film maker Björklund is interested in experimental, even abstract film and on the other hand in more easily approachable character driven animation. She's also searching for new ways to make films somewhere on the border between the two.

Her animations and comics have been exhibited in galleries around the world, but she also works with animated art custom-made for gallery use. Her pieces Random Image Generator (2014) and Kihi-Kuhi (2011) have been exhibited in museums and galleries in Helsinki, Tallinn, Birmingham, St. Petersburg, Zagreb, Tokyo, Berlin etc.

The project that has taken an ever growing part of Björklund's time during the last years is called Planet Z (www.facebook.com/PlaneettaZ.PlanetZ/). It started as a comic strip in the biggest newspaper in Finland (Helsingin Sanomat, weekly supplement 2010) but quickly evolved to include a full graphic novel (Madonreikiä, Like Publishing 2014), a series of paintings, murals and other artwork. The latest chapter in the Planet Z adventure is an animated series of 26 episodes with the animation studio Pyjama Films (http://pyjama.fi/). The 7-minute pilot episode is already finished. In Circolo Scandinavo Björklund is writing the next episodes.