Antti Oikarinen Botanical Garden Antti Oikarinen Pihlajiston ala-aste, Viikinmäen sivutoimipiste (Viikinmäen korttelitalo), Harjannetie 36, 00710 Helsinki Indoor Sculpture Botanical Garden by Antti Oikarinen (b. 1974, Oulu) is an 18-part installation in the Viikinmäki Community Centre that houses a primary school and daycare centre. Installed in the school’s atrium, the work depicts an imaginary botanical garden. Some of the plants resemble real plants, while others are purely the product of imagination. Hung at different heights, the components of the installation are made of sculpted and painted birch. The artist wanted to establish small, colourful events in the space to give the building’s users the possibility to experience the joy of insight. “In planning this piece, I wanted to draw attention to what things or objects are or what they pretend to be. Nothing in the work is what it seems. It puts illusory objects alongside things one ordinarily encounters in the school. My thinking was that the question of what something ‘is’ is particularly pressing in schools today. My work is an attempt to instil curiosity towards the world and existence. The work is also a celebration of manual skill, handicraft and creativity.” 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. At map
