Helsinki to unveil permanent public artwork by Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson

Long daylight pavilion is a site-specific artwork that marks the sun’s path through the sky above the city of Helsinki on the summer solstice. Curated by HAM Helsinki Art Museum, the light installation is inspired by time, the sun, and the geographical location of Helsinki. The artwork, to be unveiled on Thursday 5 June at 3PM, will highlight Kruunuvuorenranta’s profile as the district of light art.  

Long daylight pavilion is Olafur Eliasson’s first public artwork in Finland. Additionally, the artist’s piece Viewing machine will be featured on Vallisaari Island as part of Helsinki Biennial opening on 8 June 2025.

“It’s a great honour for me to see my work Long daylight pavilion occupy such a key position in this forward-looking new area of Helsinki. I hope that it will rapidly become an attractive destination for residents of the neighbourhood, connecting them to the world by gesturing to the path of the sun at this location. And for those viewing it from the city as a bright light across the water, I hope that it offers a point of orientation on their horizon,” states artist Olafur Eliasson.

“As Mayor for Culture, I’m proud that Helsinki is making such a significant commitment to public art through Olafur Eliasson’s work, and as a Kruunuvuorenranta resident, I’m thrilled that our light art district is gaining a magnificent new landmark. I’ve been watching the piece take shape by the shore during my morning commute and have already gone to admire it after dark. The Percent for Art works curated by HAM make Helsinki a more pleasant city for us residents to live in and a more attractive place to visit,” comments Deputy Mayor for Culture and Leisure Paavo Arhinmäki.

“Long daylight pavilion is a meaningful piece for HAM and the entire city of Helsinki in many ways; it is a massive investment on public art and highlights the connection between Helsinki Biennial and public art. This artwork by Olafur Eliasson has been in the making for Helsinki for a long time, and the collaboration also opened doors to experiencing his art on Vallisaari. At their best, HAM’s projects complement each other just like this, resulting in astonishing and thought-provoking art experiences for both local and international audiences,” says HAM's director, Arja Miller.

Long daylight pavilion reveals its full brilliance in the dark

The artwork Long daylight pavilion consists of twenty-four poles, embedded directly into the bedrock. The poles form an open, spacious ring that extends from the land into the water. The height of the poles were determined by tracking the path of the sun as it appears from the site on 21 June, the longest day of sunlight during the year. The shortest pole, which indicates the lowest point of the sun on the solstice, is situated at the north side of the circle, and the tallest – reflecting the location of the sun at its zenith – is in the south. Viewers can use the work as a kind of compass to orient themselves to their surroundings and in relation to the Earth.  

The artwork will be completed at the time of year with the longest period of daylight. However, the light installation will reveal its full brilliance in the dark, when lanterns shine out of the poles through diamond-shaped apertures that become increasingly open towards the tops. Here, they culminate in single points of bright light. Together, these points of light produce an angled ring that matches the sun’s path. For residents of Kruunuvuorenranta, the artwork appears as a softly glowing beacon within an attractive waterfront park. As the bright lights at the top of the poles are oriented towards Central Helsinki, to the west, the artwork appears in the city like a lighthouse shining across the dark water. People approaching from the bridge glimpse the lights foreshortened into changing ellipses, whereas from particular angles, they may appear as a single luminescent ring hovering in the distance.

Olafur Eliasson

The works of Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson (born 1967) explore the relevance of art in the world at large. Since 1997, his wide-ranging solo shows – featuring installations, paintings, sculptures, photography, and film – have appeared in major museums around the globe. In 2003, he represented Denmark at the 50th Venice Biennale, and later that year he installed The weather project at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, London. Eliasson’s projects in public space include The New York City Waterfalls, 2008; Fjordenhus, Vejle, 2018; and Ice Watch, 2014. The permanent artwork Gesellschaftsspiegel was unveiled in the Alter Wall in Hamburg in 2020. In 2014, Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann founded Studio Other Spaces, an office for art and architecture. In 2019, Eliasson was named UNDP Goodwill Ambassador for climate action. 

Located in Berlin, Studio Olafur Eliasson consists of specialised technicians, architects, artists, art historians, cooks, and administrators. The team works with Eliasson to experiment, develop, and install artworks, projects, and exhibitions as well as to communicate and contextualise his work. 

Vernissage of Long daylight pavilion

Long daylight pavilion will be unveiled at a public event on Thursday 5 June at 3PM. Iceland's ambassador to Finland, Harald Aspelund will unveil the work. The artist will be present at the event. 

Long daylight pavilion is a result of extensive collaboration

Long daylight pavilion has been commissioned by City of Helsinki and curated by HAM Helsinki Art Museum. The technical production of the artwork, carried out in collaboration with Studio Olafur Eliasson, was managed by the City of Helsinki’s Urban Environment Division.

Long daylight pavilion was enabled by Helsinki’s Percent for Art policy, which means that a portion of the city’s construction budget is spent on acquiring new public art. HAM Helsinki Art Museum is the art expert in these projects, and the works are added to the City of Helsinki’s art collection, managed and curated by HAM. The collection already includes more than 200 works implemented through the Percent for Art principle.

Notes to media

Helsinki Biennial Media Day and ferry transport to the vernissage: On the same day, 5 June 2025, HAM Helsinki Art Museum arranges Helsinki Biennial Media Day. The Media Day features all the biennial’s venues and artworks, including Olafur Eliasson’s Viewing machine on Vallisaari island. There is a ferry transport from Vallisaari island to the vernissage at Kruunuvuorenta. Media can register for the Media Day and the ferry transport here.

Ferry transport from central Helsinki: There is also a regular ferry operating from Meritullintori pier in central Helsinki, close to the Market Square. Timetables and more information here.

Additional information

• Head of Public Art Taru Tappola, HAM, tel. +358 50 526 1496, taru.tappola@hamhelsinki.fi
• Marketing Communications Manager Maarit Kivistö, HAM, tel. +358 40 485 5687, maarit.kivisto@hamhelsinki.fi