Ascent at Dawn (Aamunkoi)
The facade of the new parking facility in Savilahti features a multi-element sculpture designed by sculptor Antti Immonen in which a large flock of two-coloured butterflies in various sizes ascents the outer wall of the facility. The soft organic shapes bring contrast to the rectangular geometry of the parking facility and, as an entity clearly standing out from its background, the piece serves as a landmark that strengthens the identity of the place.
The visual starting points for the work of art were the light beams of car headlights and ‘observation’, the theme given for the Vanha Varikko area in the Circle of Light project. The basic element of the sculpture is a two-coloured shape that depicts the wings of a butterfly, which is visible on the road in the combination of the beams of the head and taillights of cars. The work can also conjure up the world of plants – vines, leaves and flowers. Delighting motorists, the butterflies can also be considered to refer to the Parkkiperhoset (‘parking butterflies’, which means parking inspectors in Finnish).
“I designed Ascent at Dawn to work in dialogue with both the Sarastuskaari parking facility itself and its surroundings. When approached from different directions, the butterflies are brought to life in varying colours – from one direction, they glow in orange red, and from the other, in light blue. They reflect the hues of the dawn, nature waking up to a new day. The colours and shapes of my work form a symbiosis of nature and technology. They bind together the light beams of the headlights of cars and the soft, organic shapes of nature. Through this dialogue, I wish to encourage people to look at the environment in new ways. I wish for Ascent at Dawn to serve as a landmark for the area, bringing joy and inspiration to those who move around or park their cars in the Varikko area,” says artist Antti Immonen.
Location: Facade of the Sarastuskaari parking facility / Sarastuskaari 7, Savilahti
Year of completion: 2023
Commissioned by: City of Kuopio
Property owner: Kuopion Pysäköinti Oy
The artist
Antti Immonen is a Kuopio-based sculptor known for his large sculptures, such as the Monument to the Builders of Kuopio situated at the Valkeisenlampi pond and Round Trip standing at the Kuopio Airport roundabout. Immonen uses many materials in his work, primarily stainless steel, plastic and aluminium. The sculptures are assembled from smaller elements, and the resulting work of art is born as a sum of its building blocks. By using organic shapes, Immonen wishes to include in his works an idea of nature as a transient state, describing its ability to continuously generate new phenomena.
“In nature, the same shapes with tiny variations repeat over and over again. The accumulation of these small variations results in great changes. The same parts can be interlinked in an infinite number of ways, creating endless amounts of combinations,” Immonen explains.
Immonen graduated as a visual artist from the Kankaanpää Art School in 1997, and he has won multiple awards for his works.
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