From the series Shades of Memory
Different varieties of wood, copper, steel
Height 202 cm
Solo exhibition, Gallery Sculptor, Helsinki 5.8.-28.8.2022
Photo: Aukusti Heinonen
“The tree remembers where it grew, and so do I. I remember each tree and a hut of lilacs in our backyard. Through these memories, I have found my love for wood both as living and stacked material as well as a material for my works. Many people have offered me their fallen yard trees for sculpting by saying “You should make something out of this”. Surely most people have a favorite tree. For the exhibition at Galleria Sculptor, I have turned wood into a single piece, Glued together. The work combines different varieties of wood e.g. a garden tree from friends, a tree from my home yard, and
surplus material from other works. Each piece of wood has its own story – where it comes from, why it was cut, and who gave it to me. In the work, I use for example birch from Virpi’s birch alley from Ilmajoki, Liisa and Timppa’s hackberry and rowen from Seinäjoki, Macke’s storm-fell oak tree from Vaasa, my mother’s apple tree from Kauhava, Pauliina’s grandparents’ old juniper from Seinäjoki, as well as a nesting tree that Suoku kept in a woolshed, and which was only available for use after this summer’s nesting season. In addition, the work features birch, aspen, and alder that grow in my own yard. The spectrum of life is visible in the artwork as the histories of different families are combined in it into a pearl of memory.”
Common alder
48 x 53 x 34 cm
Aspen, black alder
700 x 100 cm
Exhibition shoot: Solo exhibition Engram at Nelimarkka Museum, Alajärvi, 2018
Art work is in Vaasa City Museums/ City of Vaasa Art Collection
Photos: Hannu Pettinen
Apple tree
125 x 52 x 8 cm
Photo: Hannu Pettinen
From the series Sense Presence without Words
Black alder
68 x 15 x 20 cm
Photos: Hannu Pettinen
Ash
65 x 50 x 33 cm
Photo: Hannu Pettinen
Linden
32 x 48 cm
Photos: Hannu Pettinen
Maple
Height 230 cm
Photos: Hannu Pettinen
Different varieties of wood
175 x 80 x 85 cm
Photo: Hannu Pettinen
From the series Cascading Goodness
Oak
120 x 60 x 30 cm
Photo: Hannu Pettinen
Oak, gold leaf, shellac
19 x 17 x 23 cm
Photos: Hannu Pettinen
Hoary spruce, aspen, bronze
112 x 112 x 250 cm
Exhibition shoot Tiina Laasonen: Engram, Nelimarkka Museum, 2018
Photo: Tiina Laasonen
Some previous wood sculptures
Aspen, common alder
180 x 60 x 80 cm
Insult Once a Day, 2006 
Sweet Peace and Harmony, 2006
Wood, woolen yarn
20 x 160 cm
Sopu | Sweet Peace and Harmony, 2006 (below)
Aspen, black alder
Diameter 280 cm
Exhibition shoots: Solo exhibition, Gallery Jetty Barracs, Suomenlinna 2006