KAARNA

Client : Pudasjärven kaupunki
Location : Pudasjärvi, Finland
Status : Completed 2021
Fabricators : Koillispaja
Photography : Airmoilanen / Juha Nyman

NEON were commissioned to design a sculpture for the main entrance area of a new well-being centre which houses a doctors, library, youth services, art gallery and a café. The overall theme for the building is nature and wellbeing. For a town located in Lapland, Finland the local nature is central to the life of the inhabitants both from a financial and a leisure perspective.

To develop this project we studied the bark and forms of trees in the area. Cracks and furrows in the bark of the tree, as well as burrs and other formations in the trunk of the tree are signs of growth and change, much like scars and wrinkles in human skin.

Kaarna (meaning bark in Finnish) is inspired by the shape and texture of the trees and their bark in the Pudasjärvi area. The work encourages visitors to run their hand along the artwork as they move through the square allowing their thoughts to drift away from everyday life as they focus on the texture and form of the sculpture through the sense of touch.