Parliament Of Tiukanlinna

THE PARLIAMENT OF TIUKANLINNA TELLS THE STORY OF WOMEN DURING THE WARS. Jaana Partanen's environmental artwork is designed as a gathering place that evokes thoughts

Artist Jaana Partanen's environmental artwork Parliament of Tiukanlinna got a new home in the Autumn of 2023 at the Kuopio Campus of the University of Eastern Finland. The artwork´s new location in the yard of Snellmania is near Tiukanlinna, which was the house of Colonel Tiukka, who was the director of an ammunition plant located in Kuopio. 

Originally, Partanen planned and created the work for Naisvuori in Mikkeli, 2021. The work was exhibited M_itä? the Biennale of Contemporary Art, which presents professional artists from the South Savo, North Savo, and North Karelia regions. The Parliament of Tiukanlinna was known in Mikkeli as the Parliament of Naisvuori. 

The new location in Savilahti next to Tiukanlinna, the ammunition plant, and the warehouse cave is similar in historical context to the work's first location in Naisvuori. From the Lokki cave below Naisvuori, Mannerheim directed military operations during the Second World War, and the buildings of the ammunition warehouse. 

The words carved in stone describe the essence of humanity
The Parliament Tiukanlinna continues the story of the Parliament of Naisvuori about women's lives during the war. When men and boys went to the war front, women stayed at home keeping the society running. The women worked at the ammunition loading plant, holding their "parliaments" about war, work, and life," says Partanen.

The work consists of seven granite blocks, each of which is engraved and gilded with a word related to warfare and a woman's life during wartime: love, goodness, creativity, intuition, infinity, eternity, and emptiness. The gilded words reflect the essence of humanity and in one way or another guide how we see and understand the universe.

"The words carved on the stones, close to life, tell a story about war, survival, and waiting for the war to end. Women's lives included the hopes of their husbands and sons returning home. At the same time, work at home and in society, such as at the ammunition plant, had to be continued," reflects Partanen.

An environmental artwork made to be used
On the lawn of Snellmania on the Kuopio Campus of the University of Eastern Finland, people relax, hang out, talk, and play football amongst other yard games. The environmental artwork is designed to provoke thoughts, fuel discussion and serve as a gathering place for the conversationalists.

"The Parliament of Tiukanlinna is a work designed to be used. The work offers students a place where they can gather to ponder the mysteries of the universe, improve the world, and hold their "parliaments" and debates. When sitting on the stones placed in a circle, it is easy for the conversationalists to face each other. In Mikkeli, reading circles were also held over the work," says Partanen.

The work, based on the stage during the Second World War, also reflects the present day startlingly. The war is closer than it has been in decades, and the women of Ukraine and Russia live in the same fear as the women of Finland during the Second World War.

"The Parliament of Tiukanlinna related to military history is frighteningly relevant in different times, including ours. However, I want to believe that eternal things, such as love and goodness, will win the war," says Partanen.

The Parliament of Tiukanlinna is part of Partanen's Alchemy of Space trilogy. Partanen received support for the realization of the work from the art committee of the Center for the Promotion of Art in Pohjois Savo.