Ships and boats appear occasionally as motifs in Jockum Nordström's work. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Nordström produced a series of children's books about Sailor and his best friend, the dog Pekka. They live in a noisy port town, surrounded by large ships and cargo cranes.

The books, with their idiosyncratic imagery and humorous stories, have become classics and have been translated into several languages. The Maritime Museum's collection in Stockholm includes seven original illustrations from the books about Sailor and Pekka.

Nordström has a keen interest in seafaring, which he says is the reason why his children's books came to be about a sailor. The sculpture in this auction, created from recycled materials, looks as if it has been taken straight from one of the artist's illustrations for the book series.

In Jockum Nordström’s praised and beloved children’s books about Sailor, former seaman, and his best friend Pekka the dog, Nordström mixes collages and drawings in stories about everyday adventures elevated by absurdism and curiosity.