Metsä² (2015)
Aleksanterinkatu 15, Helsinki
Concept: Henna Tanskanen & Hannah Ouramo
Space constructed together with: Helsinki Upper Secondary School of Visual Arts, passers-by
Metsä² was a large-scale art work constructed out of so-called “local waste”, referring to the packaging and electronic waste produced in the surroundings of a rented retail space on the high street of the city centre of Helsinki. The rented space was 290m² and formerly used by the fashion retailer Mango.
Metsä² claimed:
- We do not sell anything, we do not expect anything in return from the audience/visitors/passers-by.
Our urban environment is natural just as “natural” is unnatural. - Waste can and should be regarded differently.
- Not selling nothing is a gesture of anarchy in the middle of a commercial environment.
- ‘Waste’ is a linguistic category.
- The forest is a network of agents, and humans are inescapably part of it.
- Waste is natural, waste is material, just like the rest of us.
- The use of space is a shared political undertaking.
- This text is a performance.
You can find the project’s blog and more images here.
