The light art installation “The ugliest place in the city” will be created at a location chosen by the people of Oulu themselves. Artist Katja Muttilainen’s work will be presented in the passageway next to the Autosaari parking garage as part of the Lumo Light Festival, 19–22 November.
A total of 723 suggestions were submitted for the ugliest place in Oulu, mentioning more than 300 different locations. From these suggestions, Muttilainen selected four sites for a public vote in June, which received around 3,500 votes. The wall of the former Hovihalli block won the vote. However, because the building is under threat of demolition, the work will be created at the location that came in second place in the vote.
The work was inspired by Muttilainen’s interest in strange and unusual places. According to her, such places often feature socially engaged artworks on their walls, and people tend to hang out there even when they are not supposed to.
Muttilainen prefers to explore cities through the places that travel guides and brochures remain silent about, rather than following established routes.
In her view, the passageway at Autosaari is particularly well suited to light art. Narrow passageways are rare in Finland, and this one is also long, high and full of interesting forms. She describes the architecture as exciting and the history of the site as fascinating.
The same work, a different city
“The ugliest place in the city” installation has previously been created in Jyväskylä. In addition to Oulu, it will also be presented this year in Tartu, Estonia. The responses have differed considerably from city to city. In Jyväskylä, people often explained why they considered certain places ugly. In Oulu, the reasons were lighter in tone, but there were clearly more responses. In Tartu, the responses were more cutting, with attention drawn to places such as a neighbour’s shed.
According to Muttilainen, the responses from Oulu reflected a positive spirit and a humorous attitude towards the city itself. She considers the “Paska kaupunni” graffiti a great example. This is why she is particularly happy to have the opportunity to create this work of art in Oulu.
Muttilainen is trained as a lighting and light design professional, a creative arts practitioner and a lighting teacher. In her art, professional work and curatorial practice, she is particularly interested in encounters: participation and communication, as well as creative and communal sharing of knowledge.