New works from Kustaa Saksi and Lotta Mattila as well as Mark Niskanen and Jani-Matti Salo for the HAM public art collection

The colourful Herbaario (Herbarium) by Kustaa Saksi has been completed for Etu-Töölö general upper secondary school. The jacquard tapestry with a width of more than 11 metres is located in the entrance lobby of the building.

Saksi has been inspired by botanical imagery in educational paintings from the late 19th and 20th centuries, but he is bringing the influences to the present day. The traditional educational picture boards in schools morph into pixelated imagery of the digital era. This way, Saksi is building a connection between school tradition and the history of the school building in Etu-Töölö. The building was completed in 1930. It was designed by architects Yrjö Sadeniemi and Hjalmar Åberg, and its first resident was Helsingin Koelyseo, which was a state secondary school. Later on, the school became Töölön yhteislyseo, the Töölö upper secondary school. The architecture and indoor spaces of cultural-historical value have now been renovated, and the indoor wall and ceiling paintings with their antique imagery and geometric patterns are once again highlighted beautifully.

Kustaa Saksi (b. 1975) is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Amsterdam. Saksi’s visual storytelling through textile art and graphic design moves between two-dimensional surfaces and spatial installations. Identifiable natural shapes, surreal views and psychedelic patterns meet in Saksi’s art, creating lush, visual and often kaleidoscopic worlds when combined. In his earlier work, Saksi examined themes such as sleep states, migraines and visual hallucinations.

A work from artist Lotta Mattila was commissioned for the Kamppi Family Centre in Helsinki in connection with the renovation of the centre. The Matti bronze sculpture greets visitors of all ages in the main lobby of the family centre. The image of a rhino depicts a small child, and the artist has tried to capture the curiosity and openness of a child in the animal’s essence. The baby rhino is accompanied by four small birds, and the work exudes mutual care and attention. The work was inspired by the artist’s one-year-old child, whom the work is named after.

The colour of the rhino cast in bronze varies between brown and patina hues. The small birds are turquoise green in colour and their beaks and eyes have been polished a glossy bronze.

Lotta Mattila (b. 1986), known for her animal imagery, graduated as a Master of Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts Helsinki. Working in sculpture and murals, Mattila has previously created public works of art for the Niittykumpu metro station underpass in Espoo and day care centre Neulanen in Myllypuro in Helsinki.

HAM has also acquired the ‘A Scene II’ audio installation by Mark Niskanen and Jani-Matti Salo for its public art collection. The audio work is a sister piece to the ‘A Scene’ video installation, which was exhibited in a gunpowder cellar in Vallisaari, and both of the works were part of Helsinki Biennial in summer 2021. The audio work based on the lights of sea marks can be experienced daily from one hour after dusk until sunrise on the observation deck next to the astronomical observatory in Kaivopuisto Park.

A musical note has been assigned to each of the lights emitted from the sea marks in front of Helsinki. When the viewer looks out to sea on the observation deck next to the Kaivopuisto observatory and listens to the composition by scanning the QR code on the information stand, music and solar-powered sea mark lights come together to create a feeling of closeness in what is actually remote. ’A Scene II’ follows the planetary movements, beginning an hour after dusk and running until sunrise. On light summer nights, the work can be viewed for only a few hours; in the winter, it can be experienced from the early afternoon. The changing weather conditions also affect the experience and make it unique every time.

Mark Niskanen (b. 1991) and Jani-Matti Salo (b. 1984) create multidisciplinary installations that weave together everyday phenomena and various technologies. The duo’s work delves into the world of the senses, human interactions, memories, experiences of solitude and togetherness, and their associations with global themes. Evolving, the works often take the form of site-responsive, ephemeral situations. Niskanen and Salo are fascinated by framing existing environmental structures into works of art and sharing their authorship with the non-human.

The ‘A Scene II’ website: https://www.ascene.fi/english

Press photos:
hamhelsinki.fi/en/ham-info/media-bank/ (password: hammedia).