Public commission in Koivukylä, Vantaa

Vantaa Art Museum Collection

Video projection on the facade of apartment building and sculpture attached to railing of concrete bridge.

Projection: Five parts, each projected on separate day. Shown between sunset and sunrise all year around. Drawn and computer animation, HD, silent Size of the projection approximately 4 x 22 meters

Sculpture: Painted and polished stainless steel, size 2,7 x 0,6 x 0, 5  meters

Commissioner: Seija Tulonen, Vantaa Public Utility Services centre

Curator: Anne Kaarna-Suomi, Vantaa Art Museum

Light design: Ari Tiilikainen, LITE Designs Oy

Projection and video technics: Pro Av Saarikko

Metal works: Jukka Merta, Selki-Asema

Painting: Riikka Hyvönen

Installation consisted of two parts:

1. painted stainless steel sculpture which was attched to railing of pedestrian bridge

2. five part videoprojection on facade of appartement building.

Sculpture was shaped like a feather and partly painted with nacreous carpaints.

Shape of sculpture combines magpie’s tail feather to round shapes of architecture in nearby houses. Blending colors in sculpture mimic iridisent effect in feather.

Second part of installation was a projection on appartement house’s facade. Projection consisted five different videos which each was projeced on sparate day. Videos had startingpoint in different fantasies, tales and folklores of flying and birds. Videos were hand-drawn and computer animated short sign-like happenings on wall. All videos happen on starry sky.'

Day 1: Magpie steals the moon.

Black and white animation shows magpie sitting on moon and watching downwards. Moon with magpie float on sky down and back up. Event is shown as two sided reflection, like seen through mirror. at the same time. There are slight differences in animations. This part was based on magpies role in tales as a wise but stealing bird.

Day 2: Eggs

In drawn anmation stars gather slowly together and form eggs shapes. When egg is finished it explodes in colourful cloud. Eggs shaped on sky were those of corvid birds (crow, magpie and jackdaw.)

Animation refers to various folktales of creation of the world from an egg. Stars exploding connect this to astronomy’s Big-Bang theory.

Day 3: Sign

A hybrid of traffic sign, clouds, flying crows float on piece of asphalt on starry sky. Slow computer anmation shows a mundane elements of street in a dreamllike unreal situation.

Animation is based on Jonathan Swiths book, “Gullivers travel”s. Flying island of Laputa is described for the frst time in the book.

Day 4: Feather

A bunch of feathers circle in slow movement. Their transparent colors mix and form new ones. Stars fill the round shape in feather.

In early Renssaince frescoes angel feathers were depicted not to ressemble any birds feathers on earth. Feathers appearance in animation is based on angel feathers in Fran Angelico’s Annunciation (1440-1445) fresco in Convent of San Marco in Florence.

Day 5: Windows

Sky-coloured windows appear and disappear slowly on wall. In the sky behind the windows swifts fly. Colour of the sky changes from light of dawn to colour of sunset. Window has the same shape as windows of appartement building. In animation inside and outside change places.

Animation is based on idea of parallel worlds behind mirrors and windows. In “Alice in through the looking-glass” Alice disappears to world behind the mirror, Idea of wormhole in astrophysics presents a surface which connects two far away places.