Permanent installation in Majblomman Senior House, Mannerheimintie 97, Helsinki, 2006
The art work is designed to be experienced especially by the visually impaired persons, who live in the senior house.
On the tunnel floor, which connects the two buildings on each side of the Mannerheim road, Andersson has designed a series of figures, which symbolize the prime energies of life; love, eating, searching. The 12 figures, which turn up in many forms in Anderson’s art works during the last 20 years, are computer cut in colored linoleum floor covering. Under each of the figures there is a cavity in different sizes, covered by an aluminum plate. When you step on the spot on the figure where the plate is, an individual sound is produced. Visually impaired persons can thus communicate with the art work and produce different sounds.
Around 60 chandeliers, ceiling lamps and pendants, bought in second hand shops, are fastened in a long row along the roof of the entire tunnel. Between each lamp there are empty spaces to be filled by lamps, brought by the people moving into the senior house. These can be changed for new inhabitants’ lamps later. The lamp work is inspired by Andersson’s childhood memories of the lamp shops, which in the 1950ties and 1960ties, in an almost magical way, brought light to the otherwise very gray and dull cityscape. The lightning design have also been made to take into account the visually impaired peoples’ need for both spot and ambient lightning.
