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© Image: Jan-Erik Andersson

The Island Where the Rainbow Lives

Jan-Erik Andersson

Nordsjö Lågstadieskola ja päiväkoti Rastis, Ulapparaitti 6, 00980 Helsinki

Indoor Sculpture

Jan-Erik Andersson (b. 1954, Turku) has created a work of art for the former Rastis Youth Centre in Vuosaari. The work, which extends through the building, involves a story that manifests as sculptures and pictorial motifs on the floors. The story has been available on the artist’s website since the start of the project. Andersson’s idea was to create a work of art that could be integrated into the everyday activities and teaching in the school and would remain a fairy tale memory in the students’ minds for the rest of their lives.

The roots of the work are in the Swedish-language culture of Finland. The backstory is a tale, written by the artist, of two tiny child-islands that set out to search for their lost father-island. A key element in the story is a rainbow that lives inside a flagpole on the father-island.

Installed in the entrance hall of the school, the figure of the father-island with its flagpole stands three metres tall. It is made of a variety of materials, including fibreglass and resin-coated crispbread. A cloud named Happiness peeks out from the top of the flagpole. There is also a bronze hedgehog consisting of kitchenware in the hall, and a pattern on its floor resembles islands from above. The floors in other spaces feature elements and fairy tale creatures associated with islands. The colours and fantastical figures of the installation are enjoyable without any knowledge of the backstory.

The work was produced under the Percent for Art programme for the Rastis Youth Centre, and it belongs to the collection of the City of Helsinki, managed by HAM Helsinki Art Museum. Today, the building serves as the premises of Nordsjö Lågstadieskola (Primary School) and Rastis Kindergarden.

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