“Life is a miracle”

“We are tiny particles of dust with a micro existence of one second. I am very interested in nature; it’s miraculous to observe everything that occurs within it, all that we are. My creative energy is what feeds my soul, which is why I feel that existence is a miracle in itself”.

Lin Utzon speaks slowly and intimately in Torre de Canyamel, a 13^th-century fortification of Muslim origin raised to protect the local population from incursions by pirates. Today Torre de Canyamel houses her exhibition Cosmic Dance, curated by Aba Art Lab, where she has set forth her vision of nature and shape in black and white, “a very minimalist vision of the cosmic dance we are all dancing, which comes from a shared energy”, she asserts.

The daughter of one of the great 20^th-century architects, Jørn Utzon, the creator of the Sydney Opera House, among other projects, and winner of the 2003 Pritzker Prize, Lin grew up in a little village by the sea north of Copenhagen. “I had a privileged childhood, full of peace and beauty, growing up in the middle of a forest, with my parents giving me the freedom to paint on my bedroom walls”.  

Then, when she started school, the teachers told her parents they could forget about educating her with books, because she could not read. “I am dyslexic, and back then no help was given to children with that problem”, she explains.

When Lin turned 14, her family moved to Australia, where her father was commissioned to build one of the architectural landmarks of the 20th century, the Sydney Opera House. “I discovered the wilder side of nature there. At the same time, I started studying at the Academy of Fine Arts, although I was by no means sure about what I wanted to do”.

Those doubts vanished on the day her father asked Lin to decorate a church he had built. As a result of that project, she received other requests to create, paint and decorate spaces all over the world.

Lin settled in Mallorca 25 years ago. In Can Feliz, the iconic house Jørn Utzon built in Portopetro. “The first time I travelled to the island was in 1967, with my parents. Later one, I used to come and spend two or three months a year here with my children. We would sail, surf, eat ice cream – we were together. That was happiness”.

At this point, Lin reflects on the fact that life that was “a mystery” for her until her children were born. “And then I understood everything – what I am here for, what I can do. When I had my baby, I knew that was the most important thing, the reason I am and I exist. When you take your child in your arms after creating him or her with your partner, you appreciate the miracle that is life. A great liberation”.

“One must always follow the path one really desires, because that is when [...]

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