Work of Art Turvapaikka osa 1 (Place of Refuge Part 1)

The work of art is located in a roundabout in Jokilaakso in the Nikkilä centre, which makes it easily accessible for admirers. All the Nikkilä roundabouts are decorated with sculptures made by Pekka Paikkari.

Turvapaikka (Place of Refuge)

Four roundabouts as part of the environment

Turvapaikka (Place of Refuge) is a series of sculptures located in four separate roundabouts in Nikkilä, Sipoo. The first two roundabouts are dominated by the white abstract form of rabbits and shapes that resemble carrots.

In the first phase of the sculpture series, some twenty white city rabbits were installed in the roundabout near the Sipoo Municipal Hall Kuntala in 2010. The next roundabout down the road was decorated with 15 orange, one metre-high carrots.

The butterflies were finished in 2017. In the same roundabout, there are also potted flowers with lights placed inside the planters. The Butterflies and Potted Flowers refer to the area's environment, which has always been rich in butterflies and flowers.

In 2020, the Sipoon Sudet (Sipoo Wolves) artwork was completed in the fourth roundabout, finishing the series. The Wolves guard the incoming route to Nikkilä.

Art in the Middle of Traffic

These works of art have been tailored to meet the special requirements posed by traffic in roundabouts. They also function as guiding elements, making the four different roundabouts in the centre of Nikkilä easily recognizable.

Traffic control at the roundabouts was taken into consideration for the sake of traffic awareness and flow. The planning process was also influenced by the demand that the art should not obscure visibility. Artist Mari Paikkari was in control of adding greenery to the art and multi-coloured stonecrop was added to the base of the artworks. Stonecrop is easy to manage, beautifully colored, and the benefits of using the plant also include that it grows relatively low and has a high resistance to weather.

The Bunnies, Carrots and Butterflies are made of white pigmented concrete, cast in fibre glass moulds. The surface of the Wolves has been patinated with a weather-resistant material.

Works ordered by: The Municipality of Sipoo

Artistic design and execution: Pekka Paikkari, Mari Paikkari

Production: Betonipallas Oy