Ann Sundholm: Oasis, 2006. © Photo: HAM Helsinki Art Museum Oasis Artist Ann Sundholm , Helsinki Oases are typically cool rest places in the heat of sand deserts. But in Helsinki’s Arabianranta there is an oasis giving refuge to three lions resting drowsily, exhausted in the sweltering heat, under a warm orange light-just as if in the Sahara. The gold-coloured, almost 4-metre large, lions are made from cast concrete. The oval on which the lion sculptures rest is of cobble stone providing an intricate form and winding course for running water. The artist, Ann Sundholm, intended that the presence of the sculptures would provide both a stimulating and a restful oasis in the urban milieu amongst the traffic and general hubbub. The lions in their deep sleep, or drowsy state, should therefore transmit a warmth and peace. The work was commissioned by the art foundation Pro Artibus and inaugurated on 29th September 2006 in the Jan-Magnus Jansson place at the entrance of the Arcada school building. The work doesn’t belong to the City of Helsinki’s art collection, which is managed by HAM. Read more.. At map
