Veli-Ville Sivén: Place to be
An immersive installation combining light, smoke, and sound. The whole creates a composition in which the visitors are a key element.
Place to be is an installation combining light, smoke, and sound. In the space of an old department store, there is a breathing light condition where an oval-shaped light sculpture cuts through the room amid the smoke. A drone composition, composed by sound artist Atte Kantonen, heard in the space, wanders among the sounds of the structures and the creature-like light. The whole creates a composition not only of light, sound, and space but also of the other visitors.
The piece can be experienced either by moving through the space or sitting on benches. True to its name, Place to be is "a place to be", alone, together, in the upstairs of the old Anttila department store, and somewhere else. The work is always integrated into the space, absorbing its qualities and history, and in turn, the piece influences the space.
The impact of the piece creates an immediate impression on the viewer, prompting them to explore the light, touch it, and position themselves in relation to it. The interaction of sound and light condenses the spatial experience into an almost spiritual encounter, where other lights in the space, such as exit signs, and sounds, like the noises from pipes, become natural components. The viewer explores themselves and places themselves in relation to the space, light, sound, and other visitors, creating their own aesthetic arrangements and narratives.
