Cycles is an environmental work of art situated in an old locomotive shed, Veturitalli, Vaala.
The Story
Cycles is a narrative, functional work that explores time, landscape, and man’s relationship with nature in different eras. It is built in an old water tank removed from the tower of a locomotive shed, inside which an ecosystem has developed over 30 years, including tree saplings and ferns growing from decomposed leaf litter and branches. The miniature landscape can be viewed through openings cut into the walls with different coloured acrylic filters. There are four viewing points, named according to directions, seasons, and times of day. Each viewpoint is accompanied by part of a four-part story. In the dark, the interior of the tank can be illuminated through coloured filters, for example with a smartphone or torch. The colours associated with the seasons are selected from material created in a workshop with locals.
East, spring, morning
Elements: air, wood
Things: forest, elk, boat
It is early morning. A fresh spring breeze is blowing from the east. A time of sprouting, of new growth. The earth has just settled into this position after the great ice has receded, leaving its mark on the landscape. The ancient Lake Ancylus has long since left its former shape, replaced by a network of marshes and lakes, linked by streams and rivers. They are brand new and bright, even though the elements are eternal.
A fish emerges upstream after a long winter, having found the preferred spawning grounds to which it will try to return for millennia to come. Man, too, has only just travelled to this region for the first time.
The Holy Elk moves the man, he follows it to where the berries, mushrooms, fish, and game are. Child of the forest, companion of the flowing water. There is no man without a boat when the water flows free, or without a ski during the ice. The circle of life is whole, circular.
South, summer, day
Elements: fire, earth Things: field, bear, tar
It is a summer noon, the sun is shining from the south. Now they’ve settled in houses, villages, regions. Yet someone always has to go on a journey, to map out new land and turn river valleys into meadows, marshes and hills into fields. In the brightest point of the year, a fire smouldering in a tar pit, a loaf of bread in the oven. In the field, the harvest is ripening.
The bear watches his forest, and man fearfully worships it. He gathers the bounty of earth, air, and water, the river carries it all. A distant lord gathers the greatest spoils and increases his riches.
In the hot, and in the warm, the movement is dense, accelerating.
West, autumn, evening
Elements: earth, metal Things: river, church, iron
It is evening, the western sky is darkening, and the coolness is setting in. The time of metal, of autumn foliage is beginning. Red are the slaughtered and lingonberries on the heath. On the shores the towers of churches and ever larger houses rise, and thick grey pillars of smoke here and there. From the bowels of the earth, riches unprecedented will be lifted, a road of iron will be built, and a church bell.
Soon, very soon, the river will be dammed and the power of the rapids will turn into power that will light a magic light in every house. Who would have thought that we would no longer be warmed by fire, but by water. It beckons us from the countryside to the power plant villages and the city, to a new kind of knowledge and work.
North, winter, night
Elements: water, air Things: electricity, power, knowledge
It is night, the white plains as far as the eye can see. The annual season of snow is a reminder of the time of eternal ice. Winter rain clouds rise from the north, spreading across the sky, hiding the light of the stars. A hint of spring in the air: are the freezing winters over? A network of roads, wires, pipes, energy, and information spreads across the land, water, and air. Matter is moved from one place to another, and built into ever more complex combinations. The infinite is measured, the storage of information grows.
It is quiet. In the tower, two young people are awake, guarding the skyline. Below, in the water tank, a dark ripple. Fear grips the young – what if the enemy flies over and hits us? Even if we survive the collapse of the tower, will we end up drowning in the water tank below?
Here the tank that served the iron locomotives still stands, in the next century and millennium, now moved from its original place, under the bare sky. Having seen many seasons, about to sink into the ground.
Where do we draw wisdom today? What do we believe and trust in a time of chained water and earth?
The Artist
Visual and performance artist Mari Kämäräinen works as an artist, performer, and expert. Kämäräinen lives and works in Turku, but is also active in her home region of Oulujokilaakso, for example in the Northern Opera Company. In her works, she uses performance, drawing, space, and storytelling. As a community artist, Kämäräinen aims to promote the connection and well-being of nature and people.
In cooperation
Sound design: Sami Mustonen Surface treatment and painting: Marko Anttila Cutting the openings for viewing: Villen pelti ja metalli Oy
The municipality of Vaala
A Journey of Discovery in Art
The seven works of art in the Journey of Discovery in Art project highlight the natural and cultural heritage of the landscapes in the Rokua Geopark area, recognised as being of national importance, through environmental art. The works are inspired by three main themes: geological heritage, tar, and legends. The works have been funded by the Council of Oulu Region (AKKE funding) and the founders of Rokua Geopark (the municipalities of Muhos, Utajärvi and Vaala, the Rokuan Terveys- ja Kuntouttamissäätiö foundation and Metsähallitus) and commissioned by Humanpolis.
