Kurjet (The Cranes), sculpted in 1947 by Jussi Mäntynen, is among the most graceful public artworks in Oulu. Cast in bronze and set on a natural stone base, the sculpture depicts a pair of cranes with their chicks.

The crane is the regional bird of North Ostrobothnia, and migrating flocks are a familiar sight in Oulu’s skies in late spring. Their calls—distinctive and far-carrying—often evoke a sense of melancholy and longing.

Mäntynen created several notable animal sculptures across Finland, the most famous perhaps being Hirvi (The Elk) in front of the Finnish Museum of Natural History in Helsinki.

#Oulu #PublicArt #JussiMäntynen #Sculpture #Cranes #Finland #NordicArt #CityNature #BronzeSculpture #NorthOstrobothnia

Throwback Thursday

Since our last project in Finland has now been completed, I will be sharing images from past events that took place as part of our project series PRESERVED at irregular intervals from now on.

Lämpöpaikka

We created this intervention in the frame of a residency grant at platform Vaasa in Finland in 2013 and presented it during a Performance Festival in Seinäjoki in public space. A small stove was connected to an electrical outlet that is normally used in winter to keep car engines warm (Lämpöpaikka/värmeplats) in order to cook jam. The berries used for preserving were provided to us by visitors to the event. During the whole stay in Vaasa we dealt with the berry culture in northern Europe.

#art #conceptualart #contemporaryart #kunst #konzeptkunst #zeitgenössischekunst #performance #intervention #artistresidency #artistinresidence #platform #platformvaasa #vasa #vaasa #finland #finnland #österbotten #ostrobothnia #beeren #marmelade #berries #jam #seinäjoki #performancefestival #sonnenschirm #einkochen #preserving #preserved #scheibeundgüntzel #lämpöpaikka #värmeplats

Our project in Finland is now officially over.
We wish you all a wonderful and peaceful December!

The Christmas tree motif depicts the structural formula of xylose, a sugar that forms a major component of dietary fibre in rye.

[The card is part of our project PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024–25, the project explores the role of rye as a crop with identity-creating significance for Finland, particularly in Ostrobothnia, a region often referred to as the Realm of Rye. The project was hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri), Finland.]

#art #conceptualart #contemporaryart #rye #grainfarming #ragensrike #vöra #vöyri #finland #finnland #österbotten #ostrobothnia #christmas #Weihnachten #Dezember #december #scheibeundgüntzel #preserved

Art meets Finnish grainfarming or It takes a village to plant a rye field.
The Grand Finale (Part 2): Beer at the fire (burning the hut).

On the very last day of our project we gathered the people from the village to collectively burn the hut construction we had built as a place to meet on the rye field. The autumn storms had already knocked over one wall and now the old beams and other parts were piled up and then burned down while we all drank Finnish beer (#Sahti) made of our own rye. (The beer had been brewed by the Westphalian experimental beer brewer Ludger Schweer who has helped us in many previous projects).

Almost exactly 3 years ago we visited #Abramsgården for the first time. That visit was followed by several research stays and in August 2024 the field had been sown. And since then we returned regularly to perform, cook, bake and learn. We can´t thank the village enough, especially Per Johan Grannas and his wife Annika Grannas from #GrannasLandbruk - our farming consultant and the biggest support we could have wished for - for the tremendous backing during all the stages of the project, Sanna and Tommy Antill for the tractor, the help, the tools and for being such great neighbours, Abbe Berglund for his great harrowing job. All the other neighbours and villagers for teaching us so much about the Ostrobothnian culture and rye and especially for the participation in the project itself and our performances. We thank our hosts Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge for the great trust they have placed in us. It was a wild ride!

The wood that has not burned will be used next year at the same spot for the Easter fire. Then the whole village will come together again.

LE FIN!


With the support of:
#Finnland-Institut
#Finnlines
#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse

#art #participartoryart #preserved #contemporaryart #finland #beer #ostrobothnia #rye #grainfarming #sahti #andkil #vöra #vöyri #scheibeundgüntzel #finnland #österbotten

Art meets Finnish grainfarming or It takes a village to plant a rye field.
The Grand Finale (Part 1): Beer and bread in the bystugan.

We are back. For the last time in this project. To bring everything to a closure. We invited the village to the bystugan (building where the village meets regularly). We baked bread together with Pelle in the old bread oven, which was reactivated last year. The oven had to be preheated for three days.
The dough was prepared with our rye flour. And we served beer which was brewed for us by experimental brewer Ludger Schweer. He has already accompanied us in many projects. He made IPA and Sahti. Made from our rye flakes. It was a wonderful evening with beer, bread, friends and stories.

[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

Fotos: Scheibe & Güntzel

With the support of:
Finnland-Institut
Mikko Fritze
Finnlines

#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#rye #preserved #grainfarming #finland #vöra #vöyri #abramsgarden #bystugan #bread #ryeflour #baking #village #finnlines #finnlandinstitut #beer #beerbreweing #ipa #sahti #ludgerschweer #andkil #scheibeundgüntzel #mikkofritze #harvest #ostrobothnia

Meet us tonight at 6 p.m. at Bystugan i Andkil.
We will bake bread in the wood burning oven and serve beer brewed from our rye. Apart from that you can take home your own rye flour.

#preserved #art #participartoryart #conceptualart #iivo #rye #beer #ipa #andkil #ostrobothnia #finland #byastuga

It's on again.
We are on our way to Finland for the last chapter of our project PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024/25. After one year of learning about rye, sowing rye, watching it grow, and harvesting it we will now come to a closure. Rolling into Helsinki. From there we will head towards Vörå. Stay tuned, more to come soon.

#art #paricipartoryart #rye #finland #ostrobothnia #vörå #abramsgården #vöyri #grainfarming #finnlines #helsinki

Syyshyssy 💗🍂💤 Autumn retreat
#Travel #Tourism #Retreat #Nature #Ostrobothnia #Kalajoki
•https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retreat_(spiritual)
•https://www.kielitoimistonsanakirja.fi/#/Hys?searchMode=all
•https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hys#Finnish
•https://visitkalajoki.fi/en/
•https://www.holidayclubresorts.com/en/holiday-apartments/kalajoki/

The autumn storms were faster than us (cat edition).

The autumn storms were faster than us. Now the hut has collapsed. We hoped it would last a little longer. At least until we were back again. But in the end, it doesn't matter. In November, we will build a fire. With the wood from the hut. To close the project, together with the village. We will drink beer brewed from the rye grown in our field. And then it will all be over. But until then, there's still a lot to do.

[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

Fotos: Dorothee Schulte-Basta

With the support of:
Finnland-Institut in Deutschland für Kultur, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft GmbH
Mikko Fritze
Finnlines

#preserved #ragensrike #art #participartoryart #finland #finnland #vöra #vöyri #storm #herbststurm #hut #hütte #catsofpixelfed #cats #kunstprojekt #abramsgarden #roggen #rye #granary #roggenfeld #ryefield #holzhütte #Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk #perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund #finlandinstitut #finnlines #mikkofritze #österbotten #ostrobothnia

Website finally out!
Our project is now represented on the website of our host Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) Finland!

Check it out: https://www.abrams.fi/projekt/preserved/

If you want to be part of the grand finale of the project join us in November:

November 19th, 2025, 7-8.30 p.m. ARTIST TALK (Abramsgården)
November 22nd, 2025, 6-8 p.m. BYN BAKAR (Andkil byastuga på Torrkulla)
November 23rd, 2025, ATT BRÄNNA (Abramsgården/Plaza del Råg)


[PRESERVED // Rågens rike / Finland 2024-25 deals with the question of the identity-creating significance of rye for Finland - especially in the region of Vörå, resp. Ostrobothnia - and how this relationship can be reflected artistically ("Rågens rike" means "Kingdom of Rye" and describes this very region - Finlands granary) The project is hosted by Abramsgården in Vörå (Vöyri) in the Swedish speaking part of Finland, a cultural center in the countryside run by Dorothee Schulte-Basta and Peter Lüttge. Scheibe & Güntzel = Jan Philip Scheibe and Swaantje Güntzel].

With the support of:
Finnland-Institut Berlin
Mikko Fritze
Finnlines

#Vöråsparbankaktiastiftelse #harryschaumanstiftelse #grannaslantbruk
#perjohangrannas #tommyantill #abbeberglund

#art #participartoryart #contemporaryart #rye #grainfarming #vörå #vöyri #finnland #finland #österbotten #ostrobothnia #roggen #granary #baking #finissage #preserved #abramsgården #harvest #performanceart #andkil #winter #bread #backen #artisttalk #scheibeundgüntzel #grandfinale #rågensrike #plazadelråg #finnlines