big wet
A one-day event with works by
Jessie Bullivant / Emelie Luostarinen / Jani Anders Purhonen / Kristina Sedlerova-Villanen
Saturday 29 August 2020, 12 – 18
Haukilahti Water Tower
Hauenkallio 3, 02170 Espoo FINLAND
Latitude 60.161618, longitude 24.764868
The Haukilahti water tower was built in 1968 and is owned by the Espoo waterworks. The diameter of the tower is 45.3 m and its volume is 4000 m³. The height of the tower is 45.3 m and 76.3 m from sea level. From the top of the tower, one is able to perceive the earth as a planet without flying.
The artists, who were intrigued by the unique and elegant form, first visited the flying-saucer shaped structure in spring 2019, and were immediately drawn to its rich material, visual, sonic and narrative potential. They initiated a dialogue with Ravintola Haikaranpesä, a 360degree panoramic restaurant located at the top of the still-functioning water tower. The restaurant, and encapsulating balcony, will host the site-specific show by Purhonen, Bullivant, Sedlerova-Villanen, Luostarinen on Saturday 29 August, between 12 – 18.
A large-scale painting by Luostarinen will be visible from a distance and draw attention to the scale and orientation of the tower. Sedlerova-Villanen will create visceral drawings on the surfaces of the restaurant’s panoramic window, and incorporate her sculpture made from natural Sicilian salt, previously exhibited in Kunsthalle Helsinki, into the restaurant menu. Remaining salt will be destined for the Baltic sea. Purhonen will collaborate with a number of sound-makers to perform simultaneously, but out of ear-shot of each other. The performances which happen intermittently throughout the day. Bullivant will offer a warped autofictive text which considers our bodies as soft and messy water towers.
