The collaborative artwork by Sirpa Miettinen and Valpuri Lindberg and Piia Kukkaislahti-Ferreira’s work group, The sea gifted it to us, is made of recycled materials and decorates the entirety of the Keilankanava pier. The metal parts of the work are surplus parts from a chemical pulp mill. The work is comprised of ball valves and valve gaskets. The metal parts on the pier can be sat on. The blue wall material in the background of the metal parts is made of dyed sprayed concrete. The shapes and colours of water repeat in the work. Even though the work is by the lake Kallavesi, its name features the sea. Miettinen explains that the name references her own interest in open water sailing. The sentence itself comes from Moomin books. Compared to the other Archipelago Street artworks, the work had an unusual selection process. It was chosen by readership vote organized by the newspaper Savon Sanomat.
Text: Kuopio Art Museum
Photos: Vicente Serra, City of Kuopio
