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Kuvasto

Beggar Boy

Kari Soinio

Pukinmäenkaaren peruskoulu (ent. Soinisen koulu), Kenttäpolku 3, 00700 Helsinki

Indoor Sculpture

Kari Soinio (b. 1962, Espoo) based his work on a black-and-white photograph of a young boy from the archives of Finnish Heritage Agency. The photo was taken in the first decade of the 1900s, probably in the Tampere region. Soinio hopes his work reminds contemporary school students of the time when many children had to spend their days at work instead of school. For him, the old photograph is emblematic of survival in dire circumstances.

The work consists of three parts: a full-length image and two pictures of facial detail. The pictures were made by enlarging the motifs from the photo and transferring them onto glass by frosting. A linear halftone raster was applied to the facial details. Perception of the motif is affected by viewing distance. The work was finished by tinting the frosted surfaces and laminating the images between two glass panes. The height of the work is 5.5 metres and the width 6.5 metres. The work is installed in the interior glass wall between the library and assembly hall of the school.

The work was produced under the Percent for Art programme, and it belongs to the collection of the City of Helsinki, managed by HAM Helsinki Art Museum.

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