MAGAZI NE FOR VISITORS
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IN THIS ISSUE Sports in the time of coronavirus Page 8
Finland, paradise of crazy summer events Page 10
Helsinki Biennial: The Same Sea Page 17
A column by Emmi Itäranta
please leave this magazine for the next guest – thank you!
What I dream about when I dream about coffee
Near the city but far from the rush Korkeasaari Zoo is uniquely located on an island in the Baltic Sea. It’s just outside the city, you can literally see the Helsinki Cathedral from the zoo. It takes only 20 minutes to get here by local bus (no 16) from the Railway Station of by ferry from the Market Square. Meet animals from the Himalayas, Siberia, Mongolia, Finland and the Asian rainforest – more than 150 species in total – while enjoying the silence and peace of the Finnish nature surrounding you.
Animals who are not afraid of cold It is not a coincidence that the snow leopard’s only bare spot is the tip of its nose or that the snowy owl is white and fluffy. Animals have their ways to adapt to cold climates. At Korkeasaari Zoo we want our large animals to enjoy outdoor life throughout the year. Therefore, instead of seeing a giraffe or a hippo, you will see a wolverine, a forest reindeer, an Amur tiger and a Bactrian camel – all species adapted to extreme winter. On a windy day, follow suit from the animals and dress warmly. If it gets too chilly, take refuge in the warm tropical houses.
To visit Korkeasaari Zoo is to act for nature Our mission is to conserve biodiversity. We want our visitors to value the importance of biodiversity and aim to motivate behavior change for conservation. In cooperation with other modern zoos, we breed endangered species to maintain a healthy and viable zoo population. Zoo populations have already saved various species from extinction. In order to support our mission in protecting wild animals and their natural habitats, we donate annually to various field conservation projects. Bring your coins and donate to the project of your choice. By visiting Korkeasaari Zoo, you support our work as defenders of biodiversity and endangered species. Korkeasaari Zoo is open all year round Daily from 10 am. During summer several restaurants, cafés, kiosks and picnic areas are spread around the island. During spring, fall and winter, at least one restaurant is open. www.korkeasaari.fi/helsinki-zoo
From zoos to the wild Do you know what European bison, bearded vulture, European forest reindeer and Przewalski´s wild horse have in common? All these species have been lost from the wild locally or globally, and brought back from extinction with the help of zoos, Korkeasaari Zoo among them.
CONTENTS Welcome to the Metropolitan area 6 Sports in the time of coronavirus 8 Finland, paradise of crazy summer events 10 Map of metropolitan area 12 Hotels & hostels providing Metropolitan Times 14 Gunpowder cellars and The Same Sea – Helsinki Biennial 17 What I dream about when I dream about coffee – Column by Emmi Itäranta 21
Metropolitan Times – Magazine for Visitors Issue 1/2021 "Summer" www.metropolitantimes.fi ISSN 2489-2688 (print) ISSN 2669-8277 (online) Published by Mobile-Kustannus Oy Brahenkatu 14 D 94 FI-20100 Turku, Finland
Editor Roope Lipasti Publisher Teemu Jaakonkoski Sales manager Raimo Kurki raimo.kurki@mobilekustannus.fi Tel. +358 45 656 7216
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Graphic design & layout Petteri Mero Mainostoimisto Knok Oy Printed by Newprint Oy
Cover Senate Square. Photo: Camilla Bloom / Helsinki Marketing Blue Villa Cafe. Photo: Jussi Hellsten / Helsinki Marketing Event in Töölönlahti. Photo: Vesa Laitinen / Helsinki Marketing Vallisaari. Photo: Matti Pyykkö / Helsinki Marketing Emmi Itäranta. Photo: Liisa Takala
Metropolitan Times map application for mobile phones and tablets: m.metropolitantimes.fi. The magazine is available in selected hotel and hostel rooms and lobbies in Espoo-Helsinki-Vantaa metropolitan area (see pages 12–13 and 14). The next issue will be out in October 2021. 4
DOWNTOWN SHOPPING Do you love fashion, food and urban life? We have a Forum for you. Forum is a genuine and original local shopping centre in the downtown of Helsinki. Entire block full of shops and services,domestic and international brands and a variety of cafés and restaurants.
FROM FINLAND:
INTERNATIONAL BRANDS:
Finlayson, Marimekko, Moomin Shop, Reima
SCANDINAVIAN FASHION:
Blue Tomato, H&M, Intersport, Mango, Normal, Orsay, The Athlete’s Foot, Victoria’s Secret
Bik Bok, Björn Borg, Carlings, Change Lingerie, Cubus, Gina Tricot, Glitter, KappAhl, Jack & Jones, Monki, Scandinavian Outdoor, Stadium, Vagabond, Vero Moda
Classic Pizza, Espresso House, Fazer Café, Fuku, Hanko Sushi, Kiila food and bar, McDonald’s, Suburritos Fresh Mexican Kitchen
RESTAURANTS AND CAFES:
MANNERHEIMINTIE 14–20, HELSINKI SEE OPENING HOURS AND ALL SHOPS, SERVICES, CAFÉS AND RESTAURANTS: FORUM.FI
photo: Suomen Ilmakuva / Helsinki Marketing
ESPOO
HELSINKI
VANTAA
Welcome to the Metropolitan area
photo: Olli Urpela
Urban culture and experiences in nature! Located just a metro ride away, Espoo is a vital city, offering each and every one interesting things to see and experience. Espoo has a lot to offer for those craving culture: visit a fascinating museum in Exhibition Centre WeeGee or participate in one of our city’s many events. Large natural areas are characteristic of Espoo: seashores, the archipelago, the wilderness in nature reserves and the waterways of the lake highlands. The cultural landscapes, constructed environments and natural areas of Espoo are like Finland in miniature. The special feature of Espoo is an urban structure that relies on five different centres. Four of them along the railway, and the fifth soon to be connected to the metro line. Espoo is growing fast, and the growth is focused strongly around the metro stations. Espoo has twice been ranked as the most ecologically, economically, socially and culturally sustainable city in Europe. We have also been invited to act as one of the pioneering cities implementing the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in cooperation with Aalto University and companies. We want to ensure that our city will grow in a manner that will provide future generations with equal or better living conditions than those enjoyed by us. Welcome to Espoo!
photo: Jetro Stavén
photo: Sakari Manninen
Dear reader,
Welcome to Vantaa!
Welcome to Helsinki! Making the decision to travel in these exceptional times might not be easy. Rest assured, the city of Helsinki is doing all it can to make life in the city as safe as possible. Before the pandemic I would have bragged to you about how Helsinki ranks #1 in rankings that measure quality of life, satisfaction with the place people live in, as well as honesty – just to name a few. Actually, I still might want to brag about that, but I want to add that we also rank highly in caring about safety and health. Luckily, some things are unchanged by the pandemic: Helsinki is still a compact, fun city, where modern urban life meets a beautiful, diverse environment. Helsinki lives and breathes throughout every season of the year. But don’t take just my word for it. We believe that locals are the best guides to a city. While we sadly can’t assign a personal local for each visitor, as the tech-savvy people we are, we have collected all the best local guides into one service: myhelsinki.fi. The strategy of our city begins with the words ”Helsinki is for a good life”. We don’t mean that just for residents, we mean it also for all visitors and other new friends. I hope to see you back soon.
We are happy to have you here in our sustainable, vibrant city where you can dive into local and urban life surrounded by green environment. Travelling and exploring new places is exciting – and Vantaa has plenty of things to offer for first-timers as well as returning travellers! Visiting Vantaa is safe, also during this challenging time with COVID-19. Finland is one of Europe’s safest countries in terms of health and hygiene and we have raised our standards even higher. If that is needed, in Vantaa you can both enjoy attractions and keep your physical distance. For example, visit Kuusijärvi all-season outdoor recreational area and let your steps guide you to Sipoonkorpi National Park – the last wilderness of the Capital Region of Helsinki. Kuusijärvi and Sipoon korpi are easy to reach with a new Hop-On Hop-Off bus service. If you have a sweet tooth, Fazer Experience Visitor Centre is for you. If you love science, do visit the Finnish Science Centre Heureka. For other gems of Vantaa or current events, check visitvantaa.fi! Enjoy your stay!
Jan Vapaavuori Mayor of Helsinki
Jukka Mäkelä Mayor of Espoo 6
Ritva Viljanen Mayor of Vantaa
Lönnrotinkatu 11, 00120 Helsinki
photo: George Grantham Bain collection at the Library of Congress
Johnny Aitken (left) at the Sheepshead Bay Speedway on May 13, 1916. Aitken died in 1918 of bronchopneumonia from the Spanish flu influenza pandemic.
Written by Matti Mäkelä Translated by Owen F. Witesman
Sports in the time of coronavirus
The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world to its core, and sports
have experienced their own share of disruptions. Competitions have been
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postponed or canceled, and pursuing athletic activities has become more difficult. But one hundred years ago, we were in the same situation. or Finland it was the best of times and it was the worst of times: in 1918 Finland had just gained its independence but immediately after drifted into a bloody civil war. At the end of the war, the Spanish flu that had been ravaging the world hit Finland in four waves, the last coming in the winter of 1920. And then, as now, we attempted to
rein in the virus by reducing social contacts. And then, as now, the restrictions provoked opposition. In Helsinki, for example, the city magistrate rejected a proposal to close cinemas because it was considered to be a disruption of people’s source of livelihood. But the restrictions of a century ago differed from today, especially in how they applied to sports. Whereas recreational 8
photo: Museum Centre of Finland
WHEN THE LAST WAVE OF
THE DISEASE WAS OVER, THE ROARING TWENTIES BEGAN, USHING IN A PERIOD OF
EXUBERANT EXPANSION THAT
ONLY ENDED WITH THE COMING OF THE GREAT RECESSION.
VB&JS, The Vyborg Bandy and Football Club, won the Finnish Bandy Championship during the pandemic in 1919. The team won the title 14 times in 1914–1933.
opportunities are limited now, and, for example, the Finnish Elite number of Finns killed by the Spanish flu at as many as 27,000, which Ice Hockey League didn’t even finish their spring 2020 season, is fifty times more than COVID-19 has killed per capita. Researchers competition continued throughout the Spanish flu, and there were investigating this topic have been unable to provide an unequivocal virtually no restrictions on sporting events. Other public gatherings, answer, but in addition to a general lack of understanding at the on the other hand, were canceled and people were encouraged to time, differences in the role of sports in health promotion and civic avoid congregating. For example, bandy, essentially field hockey education come up frequently. A similar debate has now taken place, played on ice and the most popular winter team sport of the time, in particular about whether restrictions on team sports for children was played normally: “A total of twenty-four series competitions and young people have done more harm than good. have been held in Helsinki, demonstrating that the beautiful game “We have evidence that, along with school restrictions, the of bandy has garnered strong support in our country and that in situation is leading to stress and anxiety in children and young the future years of peace – let us believe that such years will finally people, and as it continues, the risks are increasing. We base our come for humanity – it will become the national game of the North,” decision on science and expert opinion,” said the mayor of Helsinki, wrote the Helsingin Sanomat in March, 1919. This journalist was more Jan Vapaavuori, in explaining the city’s decision to open up concerned about the price of playing equipment than the pandemic. limited activities for children and young people, contrary to the In the spring of 1919, football leagues began their season, even government’s instructions. though the third wave of Spanish flu was still raging in the country. However, during the time of the Spanish flu, there would have After the third wave subsided, the Spanish flu was mistakenly believed been more justification for limiting sports than now because of to have been defeated, and in September the first international football the large death toll it exacted among young adults. One of the match in the history of independent Finland was played. A crowd of dead was the multiple-time Finnish sprinting champion, Valentin nearly five thousand witnessed Finland play to a 3–3 draw against Bergman. “We can explain your departure in no way other than Sweden on a field in the Töölö neighborhood of Helsinki without by saying, like the ancient Greeks: Whom the gods love dies young,” any distancing. People traveled to the venue in packed trams, still said Urheilulehti in the grandiloquent tone typical of the time when mostly without distancing or masks. writing Bergman’s obituary. Learning from the experiences of other countries could have Globally, the disease also laid low successful athletes at the top of helped. In the United States, the second wave of Spanish flu began their careers. Among those killed were racecar driver Johnny Aitken, with the baseball playoffs between Boston and Chicago. “All of those the baseball players Larry Chappell and Pearl Douglas, and the events and the regular interactions that people had on streetcars and hockey players Hamby Shore and Joe Hall, the latter of whom is a in saloons and so on helped spread the virus. And Boston became member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. really the epicenter of the outbreak in September of 1918,” wrote What will happen after the coronavirus? There has been a lot sports historian Johnny Smith. of talk about a new normal and the fact that there is no going back After this, significantly stronger restrictions were applied to sports to the old world. For a long time, there will certainly be a need for in the United States than in Finland. For example, baseball players caution, because as the French existentialist and generally cheery and coaches wore masks even during games and many college sports Albert Camus observes at the conclusion to his novel The Plague: leagues were canceled altogether, as was a much-anticipated bout “The plague bacillus never dies or disappears for good.” Despite this, between Jack Dempsey, later heavyweight world champion, and it is good to remember the experience of Spanish flu once more: Battling Levinsky. The Stanley Cup finals were canceled after all when the last wave of the disease was over, the Roaring Twenties the players on both teams were hospitalized. began, ushing in a period of exuberant expansion that only ended Why was the approach to sports and sporting events in Finland so with the coming of the Great Recession. So, when the coronavirus different then than it is today? Especially when estimates place the disappears, the party will start. s 9
photo: Joona Kotilainen
Reigning Heavy Metal Knitting world champions 2019: Giga Body Metal from Japan.
Finland, paradise of
crazy summer events
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inland’s short summer gets people so amped up that every year we see dozens of world championships, each more outlandish than the last. Usually, they’re in some small town hardly anyone has ever heard of. And every summer there are new competitions as old ones fade away. The clear favorite in this panoply of sporting mayhem is the throwing of various objects as far as one possibly can. Previous years’ lob-fests have included mouse pads, keyboards, mobile phones, and toilet paper tubes. The mosquito killing race was also legendary, but it had to be put down after some animal rights activists came out against it. That was all well and good, but everyone who has ever been to Finland, especially Northern Finland, knows that we aren’t in any danger of driving them to extinction. Fortunately, there are plenty of great competitions left in the country. This summer, the COVID-19 situation may affect things, so if you plan to attend an event, make sure to check well in advance if schedules have changed. In any case: Welcome to Finland’s Nonsensical Summer!
Written by Roope Lipasti Translated by Owen F. Witesman
two dry obstacles. The wife being carried can be one’s own or on loan, but she must be more than seventeen years old and weigh at least forty-nine kilograms. If the wife is lighter than this, she may be outfitted with a backpack to bring her over the weight limit. To enter, just arrive an hour before the competition starts. www.eukonkanto.fi
Teat liner milk can throw Yes, you read that right. Sonkajärvi also excels in this event, which is organized in connection with the wife carry. A teat inflation liner is the part of a milking machine that is attached to the cow’s udder. So the competition is to see which thrower gets the most teat liners into a milk can. For some reason, the competition rules stipulate than no one over the age of one hundred is allowed to participate. www. eukonkanto.fi/tonkkumin-mm-kisat
Scythe Harvesting World Championships Every summer in Liminganlahti, near Oulu, athletes line up to compete at mowing grass with a scythe. This traditional event requires speed, technique, and quality of the end result. For example, one’s technique cannot be too hunched over. The men’s division mows one hundred square meters, while the women’s division is limited to one half that area. www. liminka.fi
Wife Carrying One of the most famous Finnish summer hobbies is wife carrying. The Wife Carrying World Championships are held every year in Sonkajärvi in Northern Savonia. The track is 253.5 meters, and along the way there is one water obstacle about a meter deep, as well as 10
Boot throwing
Summer ice fishing
Finland is known for Nokia, but before Nokia made mobile phones, they made rubber boots, which were both high quality and highly aerodynamic. The World Boot Throwing Championship began in Finland, but nowadays it’s an international pastime with its own sports federation. Because this is such an important competition, the rules are strict: men throw a size forty-three boot, and women throw thirty-eight. The event is freestyle, but the shaft of the boot must remain straight during flight. The longest throw recorded so far was sixty-eight meters. www. bootthrowing.net
Finland is a nation of ice fishermen, with thousands of people going out on lake or sea ice in the winter and drilling little holes to fish through. Some do this for hours every day, even at the risk of their own lives. Maybe that’s better than things at home? Or perhaps ice fishing is just beyond fun. However, the problem with this activity is that the ice is all gone by June at the latest, which makes ice fishing extremely difficult. But not to worry! Every year Pudasjärvi, in Northern Ostrobothnia, hosts a summer ice fishing event in which competitors take a sheet of Styrofoam, carve a hole in it, and fish through that. For ice anglers, none of this seems strange. www.pudu.fi/pilikkiviikko
Swamp football
Hay Pole Throwing World Championships
Relatively speaking, Finland is the swampiest country in the world, and Finland is also always crap at football, so no wonder we invented a version of the sport where we can almost hold our own. This is swamp football, where you play. . . in a swamp – in Hyrynsalmi in the Kainuu region, to be exact. Up to 300 teams compete for the World Cup title – although unfortunately foreign groups enter now as well, so Finland winning isn’t a foregone conclusion anymore. Sadly. In good years, as many as 30,000 fans have descended on Hyrynsalmi, a town of 2,200, which is significantly more than bother to turn out for the Finnish national team. www. suopotkupallo.fi
In the old days, hay was placed on long poles to dry, but that hasn’t been done for decades, so the country is full of unused hay poles. Fortunately, some inventive Finns have found a way to reuse them as javelins. Each year, Kannankoski in Central Finland puts on the Hay Pole Throwing World Championships. The javelin, usually a juniper hay pole, is quite heavy, up to 3.5 kilograms. Even so, in 2019, the farthest throw was thirty meters. www.mmkisat.com
Air Tango Finnish Championships Since 2006, the Seinäjoki Tango Festival has also included the Finnish Air Tango Championships. As the name suggests, this competition involves dancing the tango with an imaginary partner. So, this is especially suited to anyone who is single or shy. And for once you don’t have to worry about treading on anyone’s toes... www.tangomarkkinat.fi/kilpailut
Air Guitar Playing Playing the air guitar is perhaps the highest manifestation of musical virtuosity, so it’s no wonder that competitions in this noble art have been going on for a quarter of a century now. The Air Guitar World Championships are held in Oulu in August, drawing people from as many as twenty different countries. The idea is to play along with music on an imaginary guitar. Whoever has the best act wins. For once a competition where participation doesn’t depend on having the money to buy a proper instrument! www. airguitarworldchampionships.com
Sauna Whisk Throw A sauna whisk is a bundle of (usually) birch twigs with the leaves on, which Finns use to beat themselves in the sauna. This helps to increase circulation, spreads leaves everywhere, and creates a pleasant scent. So why not also use a sauna whisk as sports equipment? The Sauna Whisk Throwing World Championships in Urjala in the Pirkanmaa region are a Midsummer event that has been held since 1997. Last year the longest throw sailed 13.5 meters. Whisks can be purchased at the event for five euro a piece, so you don’t have to bring your own. www.facebook.com/vihdanheitonmm
Heavy Metal Knitting Another event similar to air guitar is heavy metal knitting. This is sort of the mirror image of air guitar, where the idea is to knit with real knitting needles but to the beat of heavy metal music – for example, knitting behind your head the way Yngwie Malmsten plays guitar. Attitude decides the winner. The competition is held in Joensuu, in North Karelia. Last time, a Japanese knitting team won. www.heavymetalknitting.com
Soapbox racing Finnish championships Soapbox race cars have no engines, so they can only be driven downhill. In this event, organized for the first time in 2019 on Pyynikki Hill in Tampere, racers compete both for speed and personal style. www.pyynikinmakiautosm.fi/
Berry picking
Beer floating
In Finland, Everyman’s Rights guarantee that anyone can go to any forest to collect berries and mushrooms – just for yourself or to sell. Thirty-seven varieties of edible berries grow wild. The three most picked are bilberries, lingonberries, and cloudberries (in the North). Berry picking is hard work and requires technique as well as a tolerance for mosquitoes. So, no wonder it can be turned into a competition! Every autumn, the town of Suomussalmi in the Kainuu region hosts the World Berry Picking Championships. The main event consists of one hour of lingonberry picking, with divisions for individuals and teams. The record haul is seventy liters in an hour! www.arktisetaromit.fi
This isn’t actually a competition. Really, it’s the opposite. And while it may be one of the most unique summer events in Finland, it has been going on for twenty years now. Beer Floating is a day-long, unofficial event held in the Helsinki region, where a random number of participants float on all sorts of rafts and inflatable rings, swilling beer as they float on the Keravanjoki or Vantaanjoki rivers. The lack of an official organizer has not hampered the event’s popularity, because in recent years there have been thousands of floaters, including many tourists. The Beer Float is on the last weekend in July or the first weekend in August, depending on the vibe. www.kaljakellunta.org s 11
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Hotels providing Metropolitan Times are marked on the map with numbered red dots. The list of hotels can be found on page 14.
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© Helsingin, Espoon, Vantaan ja Kauniaisten kaupungit 2020
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MAP OF THE METROPOLITAN AREA
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Helsinki Helsinki became the capital of Finland in 1812. Back then, it was merely a village, although it was founded as early as 1550. Nowadays Helsinki has got 630,000 inhabitants and is the largest city in Finland. More information: myhelsinki.fi.
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Espoo The first mention of Espoo dates back to 1431, but it was not granted city rights until 1972. There are several centres in Espoo, of which Leppävaara is the largest. It is the second largest city in Finland with 275,000 inhabitants. More information: visitespoo.fi.
Vantaa Vantaa is Finland’s fourth largest and the oldest city in the capital region: the first mention of it dates back to 1352. Helsinki Airport is located in Vantaa. Just like Espoo, Vantaa has several centres. Inhabitants: 235,000. More information: visitvantaa.fi.
Kauniainen Kaunainen is the smallest commune in Finland with only six square kilometres and 9,600 inhabitants. It is surrounded by Espoo and renowned with its wealthy residents. More information: kauniainen.fi.
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Greater Metropolitan Area The metropolitan area and the municipalities or cities of Hyvinkää, Järvenpää, Kerava, Kirkkonummi, Nurmijärvi, Sipoo, Tuusula, Mäntsälä, Pornainen and Vihti form the greater metropolitan area with a population of about 1.4 million inhabitants. Together with the cities of Porvoo, Lohja and Riihimäki, the population of the greater metropolitan area rises to about 1,557,000.
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photo: Kari Ylitalo / Helsinki Marketing
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01 Break Sokos Hotel Flamingo
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05 Hilton Helsinki Airport Lentäjänkuja 1, 01530 Vantaa Tel. +358 9 732 20 www.hiltonhotels.com
06 Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa Kalastajatorpantie 1, 00330 Helsinki Tel. +358 9 458 11 www.hiltonhotels.com
07 Hilton Helsinki Strand John Stenbergin ranta 4, 00530 Helsinki Tel. +358 9 393 51 www.hiltonhotels.com
15 Original Sokos Hotel Presidentti Eteläinen Rautatiekatu 4, 00100 Helsinki Tel. +358 20 123 4608 www.sokoshotels.fi
08 Hotel Arthur
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The Sauna Capital of the World welcomes everyone into its cosy warmth! We have over 30 public saunas in the Tampere region for anyone to relax in throughout the year. In particular, our region offers numerous possibilities for those who love the addictive combination of hot steam and ice-cold water. We Tampereans are known for our authenticity and warmth. The same goes for our sauna culture. In sauna we are all equal – and we have public saunas for every taste. For more on saunas, visit saunacapital.com
Photos. Laura Vanzo
For accommodation, restaurants, museums and more, go to visittampere.fi
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Gunpowder cellars and The Same Sea
Vallisaari horizons by photographer Matti Pyykkö.
Ex-military island, Vallisaari, is a unique place for contemporary art
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Written by Satu Metsola Coordinating Curator, Helsinki Biennial
elsinki Biennial is a contemporary art event that will be held for the first time in summer 2021. The main event venue is Vallisaari, an island located next to Suomenlinna. It was previously in military use and is significant in terms of cultural history and natural values. The Head Curators of the biennial, Head of Exhibitions Pirkko Siitari and Head of Public Art Taru Tappola from HAM Helsinki Art Museum, have selected 40 artists or groups of artists for the event. The first of the artists invited to the biennial had an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the island a couple of years ago. Many of the artists described the island as looking mysterious and even having the atmosphere of a romantic ruin on the first visit. The roofs of the old gunpowder cellars were blanketed with wild vegetation. There were decades-old sunburned weekly papers lying on the dusty window sills of residential buildings. Creaky doors, peeling paint, markings carved into the walls of the gunpowder cellars between watch shifts. The artists sought inspiration from the island’s peculiar landscapes and military history. 17
photo: Maija Toivanen / HAM
The Curators have given Helsinki Biennial 2021 the title The Same Sea to remind us that we share a planet on which all things are interconnected and therefore dependent on each other. This concept of interdependence is embodied by Jaakko Niemelä’s installation, formed by construction scaffolding. If the northern ice sheet of Greenland were to melt entirely, it is estimated that the sea level would rise by approximately six metres, to the height of the work’s wooden pier. The overall work is supported by its parts, and taking out even one of them would cause the work to collapse. The Latin name of Alicja Kwade’s sculpture Pars pro Toto, i.e. ‘a part for the whole’, expresses one of the dimensions of the work: the same structures of the universe recur in atoms and galaxies alike. When a visitor arrives at the island’s harbour, they are met with the large red brick Pilots’ House, which was built at the end of the 19th century. After maritime pilots left the island, the building was occupied by army personnel and their families. A few of the artists were able to reach out to the building’s former occupants and hear their stories. Inga Meldere paints decades-old childhood memories of the former occupants on one apartment’s walls. Hidden inside block A is a work by Marja Kanervo that fills three residential floors. It is an almost dreamlike study of the building’s past and present life. The work can be experienced as a documentary film in front of the building. Pilots’ House will also welcome back paintings that were created by the paintbrush of army weatherman Topi Kautonen, who once lived in block D. The island’s sensitive nature and cultural environment set a precise framework for the art event. This framework is taken care of by Helsinki Art Museum together with Metsähallitus, which manages Vallisaari. An environmental programme has also been prepared for the biennial in accordance with the recommendations of the EcoCompass environmental management system. With regard to the materials used in the temporary works, the artists were encouraged to favour recycling and reusability where possible. Tadashi Kawamata uses wood material found on the island to build a lighthouse extending from the roof of a bunker-like building as a temporary landmark for Vallisaari. Its imaginary roots penetrate deep into the group, as the lift shaft forms a connection to the island’s underground tunnels. “Today, the place is very peaceful, but the island’s history is anything but. The buildings were originally built for protection against a different type of enemy, but now nature has infiltrated the island. In all its irony, it’s now a place that gives birth to new things,” the artist explains.
Teemu Lehmusruusu: House of Polypores, 2021
MANY OF THE ARTISTS EXAMINE HUMANS’ CONNECTION WITH NATURE AND THE
COMPREHENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN RELATION TO NATURE AND ITS DIFFERENT PARTS.
The island, to which access was previously carefully restricted, was opened to the public by Metsähallitus in 2016. During the biennial summer, visitors will have an opportunity to explore the works of art that rise along the old cannon path and fill the interiors of the buildings that have been left empty. The last of the inhabitants left the island in the mid-90s and the Finnish Defence Forces vacated it in 2012. Today, the island is divided into two parts: a recreational area open to the public and a restricted nature reserve. The majority of the works presented on the island are previously unseen, temporary and site-specific. A few of the sculptures will later be placed on permanent display as a public artwork in Helsinki. The work most likely to remain on the island the longest is a painting by Katharina Grosse. It will remain in the vegetation surrounding the old school for a growing season and on the exterior surface of this condemned building taken over by Actinomyces until the demolition order is carried out. The biennial also includes works that are not on display on Vallisaari. The sculptures by EGS, a well-known graffiti artist, form a type of inland tour of islands. Five of the island sculptures are located in places from which an island surrounded by water has disappeared because of the city’s construction. Three of the sculptures depict possible islands of the future. One of them, The Island of Last Winter, can be experienced on Vallisaari.
In their works, many of the artists examine humans’ connection with nature and the comprehensive experience in relation to nature and its different parts. Teemu Lehmusruusu examines the invisible life of the soil in his work, which listens to the decomposition taking place in the fallen trees in the nearby forest and transforms it with the help of technology into a sound-playing installation audible to the human ears. The work combines mycotecture, i.e. structural planning that utilises mycelium, with electronics and decayed wood. The rich variety of species found in the island’s sheltered ponds and the thousands of butterflies inhabiting its sun-bathed meadows are examples of the island’s diverse nature. Dominated by broad-leaved trees, the island is a habitat for ash and maple trees, linden trees planted long ago, oak trees and even aspen trees. On the dry outcrops, you can find natural lichens and rocky meadows dotted with Viola rupestris and chives. More than 400 plant species are known to live on Vallisaari, including new species of Russian origin introduced through the transport of feed and soil, such as the large, yellow-flowered Bunias 18
photo: Maija Toivanen / HAM
photo: Maija Toivanen / HAM
Marja Kanervo: Block A, 2020.
photo: Maija Toivanen / HAM
Marja Kanervo at Vallisaari.
THE ISLAND IS FULL OF TRACES OF PEOPLE. ALTHOUGH THE EXPERIENCE OF NATURE ON THE ISLAND CAN BE PLENTIFUL, THE ENTIRE ISLAND WAS ONCE A PASTURE FELLED OF TREES
Paweł Althamer: Seven Prisoners, 2020. VR short film / Documentary film. On set in Vallisaari. In cooperation with Suomenlinna Prison.
orientalis, which blooms on the hills. The sound installation by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller can be experienced by sitting on tree stumps in the shade of old linden trees. The work combines sounds produced by nature and humans, the trilling of birds, symphonic music and the din of battlefields. The sounds are comparable to the sounds heard and produced by Vallisaari over the course of its history. In her work, Hanna Tuulikki examines the concept of being ‘covered by a forest’, which is found in Finnish folklore. It refers to getting lost in an enchanted forest where places suddenly become unfamiliar and everything is turned upside down. At the same time, the artist examines how one can get lost in the space between romantic myths and reality while searching for the roots of the national identity.
Below the island’s most stunning viewing platform rests Alexander Battery, the largest of the fortification structures. Inside it, an installation by Maaria Wirkkala examines the threat of violence, the possibility of peace, vulnerability and fragile hope. At the other end of the building, Sari Palosaari has filled rocks found on the island with a noiseless, non-explosive cracking agent. Rock is considered to be eternal, solid and permanent. Rock cracks all the time, but few people get to witness it. In the old gunpowder cellar of Alexander Battery, rocks crack soundlessly and randomly in front of witnesses who happen to be there at the time. The pandemic already postponed the opening of Helsinki Biennial once by a year, and construction work on the island will only be able to start at the beginning of spring 2021. At the moment of writing this, no one knows exactly what the coming summer will bring. Will the cellar doors open to visitors? Will the artists be able to complete their works? We all await answers to these questions on the shores of the same sea where all things are interconnected and dependent on each other. s
The island is full of traces of people. Although the experience of nature on the island can be plentiful, the entire island was once a pasture felled of trees. The soil has been battered by construction, expansion of sea lanes and explosions that occurred on the island in the past. The latest change was the construction of a water supply and sewer network in 2019. Samir Bhowmik’s work is an exploration of an imaginary submarine and underground cable route. In his work, he examines how humans take possession of nature by utilising the built environment and technology, how infrastructure affects the landscape in the long term and what irrevocable impact it has on geology.
HELSINKI BIENNIAL 2021 12 June – 26 September 2021 www.helsinkibiennaali.fi/en
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What I dream about when I dream about coffee
There was a wondrous cappuccino I had on the top floor of a hotel with a view over Tokyo after I had just arrived in Japan for a book fair. Later that same week, I drank a strong, hot cup of filtered coffee at a ryokan, a traditional inn in Kyoto while watching the heavy rain falling on the deep-green leaves in the garden outside. In Latvia, I stayed at a boutique hotel just before Christmas one year: a lovely breakfast buffet with one of the most outstanding coffees I have tried. “Coffee report: five out of five cups,” I texted home. In rural Virginia, US, at a hotel that probably was the only one in town, my report read: “Five different types of coffee (filtered, decaf, instant, with added sugar, and extra strong, in case you were wondering), but nothing at the buffet that is recognisable as fruits or vegetables – maple syrup does not count. Four cups out of five.” Oh, and that hotel in Twin Peaks? It exists, and I once stayed there too. I do not remember a chandelier, but in that setting any coffee would have tasted of dreams. While I wait for my life as a tired travelling author – by which I of course mean a glamorous international adventuress – to resume, I dream fondly of these coffee-drinking experiences, and many more to come. Of placing my hands around the cup at a hotel, of taking that first sip of the morning, and of the feeling of freedom it always brings: that anything is possible that day. s
One thing, however, remained a constant pleasure on these trips. I would always report home about it, wherever I was in the world: the morning coffee at the hotel breakfast. In the words of special agent Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks, “The true test of any hotel, as you well know, Diane, is that morning cup of coffee.” In the past year, like so many of us, I have been mostly homebound. When I talk about my latest novel Kuunpäivän kirjeet, it is mainly virtually. And when I dream of travelling, I find myself dreaming of memorable cups of coffee I have encountered. These may not always be the most impressive at the culinary level, but are etched on my memory for other reasons, such as the setting, life events, or the novelty of the experience.
Emmi Itäranta is a Finnish bestselling novelist whose work has been translated into more than 20 languages. She lives and writes in Canterbury, UK.
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O
nce upon a time I was an international adventuress: the kind of cosmopolitan lady who travelled the world, met interesting people and stayed at hotels with chandeliers, spas and names like The Grand This, The Great That and Something Palace. This is how I would like my fictionalized biography to begin, when somebody writes it in a hundred years’ time. Truth be told, the reality is somewhat more prosaic: I did use to travel a lot, but it was mainly for work. Most of the time, when I got to my hotel room at the end of a long day, I wanted nothing more than to collapse in bed. The preceding twenty-four hours were frequently spent on packed trains, sitting at various airports waiting for delayed flights, or working 14-hour days consisting of school visits, library talks and book festivals. If there was a spa, I rarely found the time to enjoy it; if there were chandeliers, I barely noticed them because I was so focused on getting some sleep. It may or may not be true that my hotel dinner once consisted of a chocolate bunny gifted to me on a school visit, because it was late at night and no other food was available within the nearest hundred kilometres. As it turns out, the glamorous life of a travelling author is a lot less glamorous than one might think.
Written by Emmi Itäranta
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