Pasi Rauhala: Oiva

Located in Kruunuvuorenranta, Helsinki, Oiva is an ensemble of sculptures made of Corten steel and light. With the help of light and shadow, the work tells a captivating story of the surrounding nature. Through this work, the artist Pasi Rauhala aims at creating interest towards nature and its intriguing details in the neighbourhood’s residents. 

Inspiration for the work came from the bedrock, the old dead woods and the proximity of the sea to the location of the work, the residential building Aida. Made to delight Aida’s residents and the entire neighbourhood, all the elements of the work Oiva have an intersecting story: 

“The starting point for the work in Block A was a big birch tree, that had been cut down for the building. The circle made with light and shadow depicts the tree’s bole. The smaller circle in the same work depicts a smaller birch that was growing next to it. In the work in Block B there are four trees of different lengths which stood on the site of the building reaching towards the sea. The work in Block C depicts the bedrock and its sharp bevels, which can be found in the forest behind the building. For the work, I photographed various rocks and the grooves in the bedrock. In one part of the bedrock, there was a certain pattern that incited interest.” 

Rauhala’s artistic process is largely centred around computer-based designing. Rauhala first made Oiva virtually with a 3D Modelling Software. With the help of the software, he was able to plan the directions of the shadows and refine the models accordingly.  

The work is made especially captivating by how it transforms according to the changing lighting conditions. Oiva functions just as well in natural light during the day as well as artificial light at night. When sunlight hits the surface of the metal, it renders the patters mobile and shapes alive. In artificial light the shadows are static and form symmetrical patterns.