I created Satellite.
The piece is (likely) Finland’s largest pollinator and insect hotel. Its content is literally the most important aspect, even though the work itself
is a magnificent public artwork located in Rälssipuisto park in Vantaa.
About the work
*Satelliitti* is a small part of a larger project, the ”Bee Pavilion” (*Mehiläistenpaviljonki*), to which it alludes through its form and materials. The piece is constructed from old district heating pipes removed from the area; nine pipes form a cone.
The pipes are filled with organic natural materials, such as bundles of twigs, hollow plant stems, wood chips, and perforated logs. Over time, all manner of pollinators, buzzing insects, and bugs will find hiding spots and nesting places inside it. I even tucked a couple of birdhouses into the ends of the uppermost pipe.Over the years, the surrounding parkland will develop into a meadow-like wildflower area and a wetland, providing a diverse habitat.
The hexagonal pattern is a structural form typical of insects—simple and one of the physically strongest structural designs. Perhaps the best-known honeycomb builders to humanity are the honeybee and its relatives.
The true significance of this sculpture lies literally in the content hidden within its depths. The artwork’s surface, the stages of rusting, and its coloration will change and develop a patina over time. Human time is brief compared to geological time.
In 2020, Harri Larjosto was commissioned (by the Vantaa Art Museum) to create an art program for the Annefred area’s development plan, into which the program was subsequently integrated. While planning the public art content—centered on the theme of ”returning home” as envisioned by Anne Kaarna—Larjosto realized that the art should also take environmental factors into account, going beyond mere titles or rhetoric. The bee was chosen as the area’s emblematic animal.
Larjosto included the following guideline in the program:
”The art in the area should, in part, serve the natural flora and fauna by providing resting, shelter, and nesting sites.”
Consequently, plans were made for several locations within the area to host large insect hotels and nesting sites—specifically for the swift, a species in decline. Larjosto’s own monumental work selected for the site, the ”Bee Pavilion,” incorporated an apiary and included a smaller ”satellite” piece—a sculpture that functioned as an insect hotel.
As I write this, the City of Vantaa has postponed the construction of the Bee Pavilion until at least 2029—if it is to be built at all?
