FOR THE MEDIA /PRESS RELEASE

LARU 06 – environmental art exhibition and community art event in
Särkiniemi, Lauttasaari, from 2 September to 1 October 2006. Phone
directory map 19 5 BC. Buses 65A, 66A and 21V. Opening and community art
event on Lauttasaari Day on 2 September 1pm–4pm. Performance at 1pm.
The exhibition is open around the clock. Signs showing the way to the
venue start at the last bus stop of the bus route at the end of
Itälahdenkatu street.
Additional information: Anu Miettinen, tel. +358 41 511 6864, e-mail:
anu.m.miettinen@helsinki.fi

Exhibition artists: Anastasia Eliseeva, Krista Kortelainen, Kaisu
Lundelin, Annukka Majamäki, Pirjo Malkki, Anu Miettinen, Egle Oddo. On 2
September, Lauttasaari Day, the audience can participate in making
community art. The artists will also be present to discuss their works
with the public. Signs showing the way to the exhibition start from the
last stop of the bus route at the end of Itälahdenkatu street. The works
are all in a small area and easy to find.

The themes of LARU 06 are the sea, the shore and the meeting of the two on
the shoreline. Other important aspects of the exhibition are co-operation
with local residents, site-specificity and using art to produce added
value to natural areas. The exhibition organisers work in co-operation
with the local residents’ association, Lauttasaari Society. The works of
art are made of natural and recycled materials as far as possible.

LARU 06 is the first environmental art exhibition and happening held by
the group in Lauttasaari. It is intended as a regular event to be
organised every autumn. Lauttasaari is an excellent place to have an
exhibition of environmental art as it combines densely-built residential
areas with large recreational shoreline areas. Moreover, there is hardly
any (public) art in Lauttasaari.

Compared to many other cities, the shores in Helsinki and the natural
areas associated with them are exceptional and unique. The shores in the
various parts of the city have recently been in the centre of a public
debate because of alternative land-use plans. LARU 06 therefore has
several aims: First of all, to draw attention to the existence and fate of
shorelines in Helsinki. Secondly, to provide an opportunity to experience
art along the seaside also for people who do not regularly frequent art
galleries and museums. Thirdly, to offer people an opportunity to
participate in making community art.

The exhibition is sponsored by the City of Helsinki Cultural Office,
Helsinki Windsurfing Club, Kierrätyskeskus, Lauttasaari-seura, Picaset Oy,
Tehtaankadun Emmaus.

Artists

Anastasia Eliseeva
The Nest

Sitting there on the coastline I feel the beauty and power of nature, the
calmness and freedom of the seaside. I have no desire to add anything
alien to the landscape. Instead I draw my attention and the attention of
the people living here to the details of this peculiar place.

I take inspiration and forms from nature and in return I give an art
piece. To catch attention, I enlarge things that probably exists in this
place already. To see a usual thing in unusual size is always interesting
It is important to put this focus for people who have been living here for
a long time and got used to the beauty, taking it as normal in their
everyday life. For the people who come here for the first time my work is
a guide what they should pay attention to.

The nest is a symbol of something new. It bears a secret. It is an image
of a hidden power and of silence.

Krista Kortelainen
Back to the Landscape

Back to the Landscape is a series of eight paintings hung in trees. The
paintings were inspired by a stone I found some time ago. With the work, I
am returning it to nature, to be part of the landscape once more. The
paintings were done in ink and gouache.

Kaisu Lundelin
Path, the Moment of Perseus

The sea and the forest are holy places for me. Things taking place in
nature captivate the senses. On the other hand, climate change and the
deterioration of the Baltic are frightening and perplexing in their speed.

The metaphor for the creation of my works is the struggle between Perseus
and Medusa. Is Perseus resting? How is the world reflected around him? Is
Medusa blinded or does she still wield her power?

Nature is in constant flux. The mirrors reflect the surroundings on the
beautiful island. During the exhibition, nature will leave her traces in
the works, the mirrors will become an autumnal story.

Annukka Majamäki
A Piece of Helsinki
Together with the residents of Lauttasaari we will use mosaic to make
works telling what it is like to live in Helsinki, about the participants'
personal situation and what is important and meaningful in their lives
right now. The finished pieces will be displayed in the open air.

Pirjo Malkki
Untitled pieces

Sitting pads crocheted from reeds are hung on branches to swing freely in
the wind, forming an installation. The pads are hung on the line with
clips, to make it easy to take them down and put them back on the line.
People can borrow the pads and sit down comfortably on them.

Anu Miettinen
Shoe Cairn, Cone Labyrinth, Moss Horizon

I have used various materials to make works symbolising the things I have
found or sensed by the seaside: a cairn, a labyrinth and a horizon. My
media are shoes, cones and moss.

One of the original ideas that inspired the work was that the sea has
throughout the ages been an important channel for the dissemination of
both creatures of nature and of cultures. In stories, adventurers set off
for distant lands far away beyond the sea... towards a new shore.

Egle Oddo

A Tender Wall, installation: trees, fabric.
"The landscape, the sweet view of it, is blocked by a wall of fabric. This
one would be easy to remove. Other walls, other borders, even if they seem
hard and steady, could also be removed tenderly."

My Private Public Space, installation: private space, photo.
"This time, instead of making a public space private, we got a private
space to make public temporarily. Generosity instead of greed."

Libertà Corale, performance, written by E.O. for a choir.
"When we feel we do not have freedom of speech, it might be interesting to
see if it is because of a real obstacle in our environment, or if we just
do not want to be involved..."