The art of Sail has something nihilistic about it (the artist’s website is even called Useless Arm), but, as it often happens, behind the nihilism is something more subtle and heartfelt. Sail is a reclusive person; all that’s really known about him is that he lives “on the top of a hill near the sea” somewhere in Norway. For his upcoming solo show in Roq La Rue‘s project space, “Dead Language,” Sail created a series of smoky drawings with ink on paper. According to Sail, the mythological figures in the works allude to Japanese oral storytelling traditions and the shape-shifting nature of truth. “Dead Language” will be on view at Roq La Rue in Seattle October 3 through November 2. Take a look at some of Sail’s work for the show below.