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Hannu Sirén (1953 - )
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map | Hämeentie 161, Arabia |
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Hannu Siren's work Shadows is located in Arabianranta, in the yard of an art and communications school that is housed in a converted factory building. Shadows was unveiled at the building's inauguration on April 16, 1999. Shadows was built in cooperation with several construction companies. It consists of 16 mm ribbed reinforcement bars welded on site and is 2—7 m high, 30 m long and 28 cm deep.
Siren has described the work thus: "My aim was to balance off the steep incline of the yard, and to introduce a new dynamic that would engage the space as a whole and change depending on where one stands. The changing of the seasons, from first snow to the wall of green leaves in summer also alter the appearance of the work. I started working on the piece in November 1996 after having been commissioned to do a sketch. The final result evolved out of a close dialogue with professor and architect Kai Wartiainen. Work on the piece itself began in June 1998 and it was completed by the end of the year."
The old textile factory has been protected and converted into an art and communications school. One of the installation's goals is to create a conscious and, in some way, bring the intimate, low-key milieu and the busy school building closer together. The corroded material symbolizes the passage of time, the presence of history. The 'immaterial' net-like structure emphasizes the courtyard as a spatial entity.
©
Visual Artists Association
© Helsinki City Artmuseum
WWW-production: Lasipalatsin Mediakeskus Oy,
Flammable Solutions Oy 2001
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