LUMINOUS FINLAND 100

LUMINOUS FINLAND 100 LIGHT ART ENSEMBLE COMPRISED SIX MASSIVE PIECES OF LIGHT ART THAT WERE EXHIBITED ALL AROUND FINLAND DURING THIS JUBILEE YEAR OF FINNISH INDEPENDENCE.

Familiar Finnish landmarks, natural diversity and some historical sites were highlighted by light art in an unprecedented way. Luminous Finland 100 was a part of the official jubilee program of Finnish independence and it was the biggest of the art concepts.

The artwork for the Jubilee Year Opening Ceremony in Töölönlahti Bay of Helsinki on 31st December 2016 launched the light art series. Luminous Finland 100 ensemble culminated around the Finnish Independence Day jubilee week, 28th November - 6th December 2017, when the pieces of light art series were lit one by one in Olavinlinna Castle in Savonlinna (East), Näsinneula Observation Tower in Tampere (Central Finland), Kuusisaari Island in Oulu (North west), Saana Fell in Kilpisjärvi (North), and Turku Castle in Turku (West). 

Theme of the project was our values, what makes us Finnish? I believe that main value of the Finns is pure nature.

I wanted to use only 2 colors on each site with variating techniques. White that symbolized our pure nature and blue, cause we have more lakes then any other country.

1st site was a old park in our capitol on the beginning of the year that was one of the darkest places on the capitol.

2nd site was in the east a old Castle that has been a major mark on our history much longer then last 100-years. Also the castle was not ever lighted. I used PANI projections to chance the scale of the castle and created much bigger ‘bricks’ then the castle has.

3rd site was in central finland and the tallest building in the country. Tower was full of dynamics and it created roof of light to the top of the whole city.

4rd site was in Oulu in a brand new park for events and cultural activities. Problem on this was that there wasn’t much anything to light up. So i wanted to add performing art’s to the project. I used a pianist (Janne Mertanen) and a dancer (Saija Jäntti) and they were performing on each hour for 6 mins when the ambient soundscape turned to a best piano song by mr. Jean Sibelius called Kuusi (The Spruce). Pianist played this on the stage and this was a central element with the dancer on the site.

5th site was a sacred Saana mountain around 500km above arctic circle. Place is sacred for Sami people and its propably only mountain that most of the Finns will recognise. Lighted area was around 4,7km wide and from the centre around 600m high, with no roads, electricity, access and it can be -40deg of celsius there. Project was a mark that our independence belongs to every Finn, also people who are living in more isolated areas. This was implemented in a village where is only around 100-people living and lighted area was around 2,500,000m2.

6th and last site was in Turku, our old capitol. I wanted to use everything in the series to the last spot. So we had PANI-projections, performing arts (Dancers, aerial acrobats, fire artist), i co-worked with a fabulous painted ms.Katja Kouvolainen who created the pictures for PANI projections. We did the castle in 360-degree inside + outside, used all the windows in the building and created symbiosis of the art forms on our Independence day 2017 when Finland turned to 100-Years.

SCHEDULE
31st Dec, 2016-1st Jan, 2017 Opening Ceremony, Töölönlahti Bay, Helsinki
28th-29th Nov, 2017 Savonlinna, Olavinlinna Castle
30th Nov-1st Dec, 2017 Tampere, Näsinneula Observation Tower
2nd-3rd Dec, 2017 Oulu, Kuusisaari Isle
4th-5th Dec, 2017 Kilpisjärvi, Saana Fell
6th Dec, 2017 Turku, Turku Castle