Expanded version of Laura Könönen's much loved public artwork No Heaven up in the Sky unveiled in Jätkäsaari
An artwork presented at the 2021 Helsinki Biennial has been permanently installed in Helsinki. The new version of artist Laura Könönen's installation No Heaven up in the Sky has been expanded from the eight boulders seen at Alexander Battery on Vallisaari Island to a larger installation of 13 boulders measuring 20 meters in diameter and installed in Jätkäsaari's Hyväntoivonpuisto Park.
![Laura Könönen: No Heaven up in the Sky (detail), 2024. HAM Helsinki Art Museum. Photo: Sonja Hyytiäinen.](/data/images/public/69819811/70311339/7ef1d178-1b94-43cb-b59d-f19b700b2099-w_720.jpg)
Artist Laura Könönen’s work No Heaven up in the Sky consists of roughly sculpted boulders of various sizes. Each boulder has one polished surface spray-painted with azure car paint, with the colour gradually changing from dark to light. According to the artist, the boulders form a puzzle of a kind – as if pieces of the sky had randomly fallen to Earth. In the work, both the sky, believed to be eternal, and stone, considered an unyielding material, break into pieces. It can be seen as a metaphor for our world where established truths are breaking and changing.
The work, curated by HAM Helsinki Art Museum, will be unveiled at a public event on Wednesday 19 June from 2 to 3 p.m. The event starts at Hyväntoivonkuja 5 and continues at the park with a presentation of the work. Head of Helsinki’s Culture and Leisure Division Juha Ahonen will unveil the work. The artist will be present at the event.
![Laura%20K%F6n%F6nen%3A%20No%20Heaven%20up%20in%20the%20Sky%20%28detail%29%2C%202024.%20HAM%20Helsinki%20Art%20Museum.%20Photo%3A%20Sonja%20Hyyti%E4inen.](https://www.sttinfo.fi/data/images/public/69819811/70311339/4d90c846-417d-459c-a07b-26f55fa39379-w_720.jpg)
In her works, sculptor Laura Könönen (b. 1980) reflects on the fundamental longing underlying our life and the absurdity of existence. She often uses stone – especially black diorite from Korpilahti – in her works. According to Könönen, stone belongs to a different timeline than the existence of an individual. For her, stone symbolises “silence without human presence after all sound has disappeared”.
The commission was made possible by Helsinki’s Percent for Art policy, which means that a portion of the city’s construction and renovation budget is set aside for public art. Könönen’s work was commissioned by the City of Helsinki’s Urban Environment Division and curated by HAM Helsinki Art Museum, which acts as an art expert in the city’s Percent for Art projects and manages the City of Helsinki’s art collection, to which the new works are added. The collection managed by HAM includes more than 200 works commissioned through the Percent for Art principle.
More information:
- Architect Klas Fontell, tel. +358 50 336 2186, klas.fontell@hamhelsinki.fi
- Head of Public Art Taru Tappola, tel. +358 50 526 1496, taru.tappola@hamhelsinki.fi
Keywords
Images
![Laura Könönen: No Heaven up in the Sky (detail), 2024. HAM Helsinki Art Museum. Photo: Sonja Hyytiäinen.](/data/images/public/69819811/70311339/7ef1d178-1b94-43cb-b59d-f19b700b2099-w_240.jpg)
![Laura Könönen: No Heaven up in the Sky (detail), 2024. HAM Helsinki Art Museum. Photo: Sonja Hyytiäinen.](/data/images/public/69819811/70311339/4d90c846-417d-459c-a07b-26f55fa39379-w_240.jpg)
![Laura Könönen: No Heaven up in the Sky (detail), 2024. HAM Helsinki Art Museum. Photo: Sonja Hyytiäinen.](/data/images/public/69819811/70311339/a4640cba-1d9b-4945-8750-bb1daab23346-w_240.jpg)
![Laura Könönen: No Heaven up in the Sky (detail), 2024. HAM Helsinki Art Museum. Photo: Sonja Hyytiäinen.](/data/images/public/69819811/70311339/f414d27b-98da-4fc2-bb6b-6e79faac1e4a-w_240.jpg)
![Laura Könönen: No Heaven up in the Sky (detail), 2024. HAM Helsinki Art Museum. Photo: Sonja Hyytiäinen.](/data/images/public/69819811/70311339/cb132e52-1534-4605-9b3d-c42ee42970d7-w_240.jpg)
![Laura Könönen: No Heaven up in the Sky (detail), 2021. Helsinki Biennial 2021. Photo: Maija Toivanen/HAM.](/data/images/public/69819811/70311339/d348a39b-32f7-49a3-8acf-9b3fd1067c74-w_240.jpg)
HAM Helsinki Art Museum is one of the most significant art museums in Finland and the Nordic region. HAM actively curates a broad international exhibition program and houses a rich collection of over 10,000 artworks, which includes the city of Helsinki’s public art collection. HAM is responsible for art conservation, curation, public art commissions, and acquisitions within Helsinki’s art collection, encompassing both domestic and international works. Furthermore, HAM oversees organizing the ambitious contemporary art event Helsinki Biennial. Since 2023, HAM has operated as a foundation under the Helsinki City Group’s umbrella.
Alternative languages
Subscribe to releases from HAM Helsingin taidemuseo
Subscribe to all the latest releases from HAM Helsingin taidemuseo by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from HAM Helsingin taidemuseo
Xiao Zhiyu: Layered Hills send off Glimmering Light / 小山重叠金明灭, HAM galleriet 6.7–1.9.202426.6.2024 15:00:00 EEST | Tiedote
Xiao Zhiyu används medel från traditionellt kinesiskt bildskapande för att utforska landskapskonceptet som en yta genom objekten.
Xiao Zhiyu: Layered Hills send off Glimmering Light / 小山重叠金明灭, 6.7.–1.9.202426.6.2024 15:00:00 EEST | Tiedote
Xiao Zhiyu käyttää näyttelyssään perinteisen kiinalaisen kuvantekemisen keinoja tutkiakseen maisemaa esineiden halki ulottuvana pintana.
Xiao Zhiyu: Layered Hills send off Glimmering Light / 小山重叠金明灭, HAM gallery 6.7.–1.9.202426.6.2024 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Xiao Zhiyu uses the devices of Chinese traditional image-making to study the concept of landscape as a surface across objects.
På allmänhetens begäran har ett nytt offentligt konstverk färdigställts vid Åggelby station10.6.2024 13:30:33 EEST | Tiedote
Konstnären Lasse Juuti har färdigställt ett nytt offentligt konstverk i Åggelby, De samtida. Åggelbyborna önskade sig ett konstverk för att pigga upp stationen via VårStad, dvs. deltagande budgetering. Offentliggörandet av verket som kurerats av HAM Helsingfors konstmuseum äger rum den 14 juni 2024 kl. 11 på Åggelby Societetshus. Paavo Arhinmäki, biträdande borgmästare med ansvar för kultur och fritid, offentliggör verket i närvaro av konstnären. Evenemanget är öppet för alla.
Oulunkylän asemalle valmistui asukkaiden toiveesta uusi julkinen taideteos10.6.2024 13:30:33 EEST | Tiedote
Taiteilija Lasse Juutilta on valmistunut Oulunkylään uusi julkinen taideteos Aikalaiset. Oulunkyläläiset toivoivat taidetta aseman piristykseksi OmaStadin eli osallistuvan budjetoinnin kautta. HAM Helsingin taidemuseon kuratoiman teoksen julkistamistilaisuus järjestetään Oulunkylän Seurahuoneella 14.6.2024 klo 11. Teoksen julkistaa kulttuurin ja vapaa-ajan apulaispormestari Paavo Arhinmäki, ja taiteilija on läsnä tilaisuudessa. Juhlatilaisuus on kaikille avoin.
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom