Artwork competition proposal: HeleneS – monument in a landscape
Address: Skepparträdgården, Ekenäs
Artists: Jaana Partanen and Heikki Lamusuo
Pa-La team:
Material: patinated copper, corten steel, patinated bronze, granite, galvanized steel, larch
Helene Schjerfbeck's artistic expression was painting. Therefore, the HeleneS memorial consists of two-dimensional “layers of painting” that, when superimposed, create a three-dimensional sculpture. In addition, the overlap indicates that the artist made several versions of her own work, as well as developed the same subject over time into a more reduced form. Although the sculptural gait reflects Helene’s physical fragility, the overlapping layers eventually form a strong and cohesive work, a poetic allegory of Helene’s art and life.
The HeleneS memorial has three characters; a woman, a man and a child (heights 3.0 / 2.7 / 2.3 m). The sculptural character, on the other hand, is made up of abstract excerpts from portraits painted by the artist. The children's sculpture consists of portraits of children, a female sculpture of female portraits and a male sculpture of male portraits, respectively. The sculptures reflect how important people were to Helene Schjerfbeck, both in art and in life.
To the north-east of the monument, near the mound, is the “Helene Painting Bench” (1.5 x 0.4 x 0.4 m) with a backlit text cut to the front: Helene Schjerfbeck 1862 - 1946. The bench reminds us that the artist worked a lot in Ekenäs while sitting on a park bench. Now those who come to the monument can sit in peace on Helene's painting bench and observe the monument and nature, as Helene once did.
The HeleneS monument uses three different metals; the female sculpture is made of patinated copper (green), the male figure is made of corten steel (reddish brown) and the children’s sculpture is made of patinated bronze (dark brown).