Structures Going By

Rahtia-Art project
Helsinki city centre
Helsinki, Finland 2004

“Structures Going By” is my first work about perceiving city space. It attempts to capture the experience of the city. I was drawing my new hometown from the tram. The speed reduced the buildings and revealed their rhythm. In these drawings the lines of buildings morphed into something incorporeal, into musical notes or writings from a distant country. Different parts of the city speak different languages.

The work was exhibited at the Sörnäinen tram stop in Helsinki and it included drawings of buildings, written comments about other passengers, as well as annotated maps of the tram routes I used. My drawings are notes of constructed environment.

I exhibited the work so that it was accessible for other passengers to view as they began or ended their travels on the tram. I was interested in inviting them to partake in the experience like I did. We all see the same view from the tram window. The work encouraged passengers to look out and make their own new observations.