Torille!

Torille! is a public artwork by artist Komugi Ando and artist-designer Teemu Salonen in Vaasanpuistikko Square next to Sörnäinen metro station. In English the phrase Torille! Means “to the market square”, referring to big events that bring people together.

Drawing inspiration from classical sculpture parks, dream worlds and busy marketplaces, the artwork consists of five sculptures displayed on top of columns. The spiral patterns painted on the columns are an integral part of its mystical world.

Teemu Salonen and Komugi Ando describe the individual figures as representing “everyday states of mind”. The figures have assembled “in the marketplace of life, a bustling place reminiscent of a medieval market”.

The figures in the character gallery bear a resemblance to animals such as cats, snakes and birds. Showing off in their midst are a diva-like giant flower and a laundry basket full of succulent fruity forms. The hybrid figures simultaneously express many emotions, even conflicting ones, from shyness and sadness to joy and excitement. The artists’ expressed goal was to create an easily relatable body of work that is open to many interpretations. The sculptures combine many materials such as bronze, concrete and fibreglass.

Teemu Salonen is a designer and sculptor who weaves together innovative techniques and traditional craftsmanship with elements such as kitsch, humour and corporeality. Through his process he endows his myriad forms, materials and colours with a vivid exuberance, with each work inspiring the next. Many of his sculptures combine diverse materials such as clay, fibreglass, glass, plastic and light. Salonen has exhibited worldwide, and he is represented by Todd Merrill Studios in New York.

Komugi Ando is a Japanese artist and collector of stories. She works across the mediums of ceramics, paper, sound and installation. Pairing together unlikely elements, she creates unique fantasy worlds that exist in a universe of their own. Her artistic interests include medieval churches, non-verbal communication, and identification that occurs in surprising situations.

The work belongs to the City of Helsinki’s art collection, which is managed and curated by HAM.