BEGINNINGS, 2025

Pyörö Daycare Center, Kuopio

Collection of Kuopio Art Museum, KUMMA

"Beginnings" is a work consisting of 22 sculptures placed throughout the indoor spaces of the Pyörö daycare center — on walls, ceilings, built-in furniture, and door frames. The sculptures, each approximately 25 x 25 x 25 cm in size, are scattered across the daycare's dining hall and other rooms.

The artwork presents a collection of imaginative, previously unknown flying seeds. These seeds combine elements from real plants, blossoms, insects, and other organisms. They are a kind of multi-species hybrid from which anything might grow: trees, flowers, animals, or bacteria.

The sculptures are arranged in such a way that one could imagine a gust of wind having scattered them around the daycare. The seeds appear to have stuck to walls, ceilings, window frames, and other fixed structures. Some seeds are placed to appear as if they have passed through walls and attached themselves in rooms beyond.

The solid forms of the sculptures are carved from juniper. Juniper is a fragrant, slow-growing, and hard wood. The wood used in the sculptures may be several decades old. The resin of coniferous trees is naturally antibacterial.

The delicate, leaf-like and tendril-like structures of the pieces are made from copper wire and copper mesh. The copper has been patinated to a greenish color. Copper is also known for its antibacterial properties and has been used, for example, in hospital door handles to prevent the spread of bacteria via touch.

The colored, mass-like parts of the sculptures are made from dyed beeswax. Beeswax is an antibacterial, non-toxic material used in numerous health-promoting products. The beeswax used in the artwork was sourced locally from the Kuopio region, near the daycare.

The materials of the work are multisensory: they have distinct scents and textures. The sharp, resinous scent of juniper combines with the sticky, sweet smell of beeswax. Copper, in contrast, is a warm and soft metal. One of the sculptures is specifically designed to be touched and smelled by the children.

The concept of a seed parallels the idea of a child and growth. A seed is a beginning, just as a child is — growing and changing. The purpose of the sculptures is to spark the children's imagination. They can imagine what kind of creature might grow from each seed, or what kind of creature it might have come from. They might recognize features such as antennae, leaves, butterfly wings, eyes, and more in the sculptures. The seed sculptures provide an easy starting point for inventing stories, imagining fantasy plants and creatures, or exploring combinations of animals and plants.

The materials are also meant to introduce children to the multisensory nature of natural materials and, through storytelling, share the origins of these materials. The daycare staff has been guided on how to use the artwork as a tool to talk about the biodiversity of nature.

The photos of the works were taken before installing the work.