Anna Pekkala
2023, Paatti (Aquatic deluxe remix escape vehicle), Sculpture installation, Metals, sea plants, emotions, silicone, motor
The artwork is exhibited in the Kuva/Tila gallery on the 1st floor of the Mylly building.
Introduction
The things I remember the clearest are the sea trips made with an acid-resistant steel boat, welded from one’s own plans. The first sculpture I experienced, an unsinkable ship. Bouncing on the waves, salty spindrifts on face, the smell of life jackets.
Play got mixed with fear. Not the fear of drowning, but of what’s beneath the surface, what I can’t see. I remember when I was very small, I was afraid that while diving, my hands would sink into a rotting body, or something would eat me.
There is a tilted boat near Kaisaniemi. It’s one of my safety views in Helsinki. Sometimes I go and greet it up close. Trees, some graffiti, and beautiful buildings are often also safetythings. But sculptures are only rarely.
I’m not sure if it all started from water or fear. For a long time I thought it was water.
Some kind of skin touches my toe.
The work has been supported by Kierrätyspalvelut Rautasoini Oy.
The other part of the twin work is exhibited at Kuopio Art Museum in the Kannun henki -exhibition 12.5.–27.8.2023.
About the artist
Artist Anna Pekkala was born in 1989 in Mänttä.