Päivän peili to be unveiled at Asemanranta’s Mensanaukio on 23 October.
The artwork Päivän peili by visual artist Johanna Rope, located at Asemanranta’s Mensanaukio, has been installed. The work will be unveiled on Friday, 23 October at 6 PM with dance, movement, and community participation. Dance artists from Hämeenlinnan Tanssin Tehdas ry and contemporary dancers from the Sibelius Academy will perform at the unveiling, and residents are also invited to help set the work in motion.
The Päivän peili artwork, being implemented at Asemanranta’s Mensanaukio, has reached a significant milestone with the installation of its structures. Final touches to the area’s electrification, lighting, surface structures, and plantings are still being completed before the square is fully finished.
Päivän peili is a kinetic, or moving, artwork designed by visual artist Johanna Rope. The work’s ring is rotated by a servo motor, which produces its characteristic movement. Thanks to this motion, the piece constantly looks slightly different depending on the surrounding light, weather conditions, time of day, and the seasons.
The public is invited to start the movement of the work together with dance artists from Hämeenlinnan Tanssin Tehdas ry and contemporary dancers from the Sibelius Academy at the unveiling ceremony, which will be held at Mensanaukio on Friday, 23 October at 6 PM.
A public art competition was held in 2018 for the artwork to be placed at Asemanranta’s Mensanaukio. It was won by Johanna Rope’s Päivän peili. The artist was inspired by the history of the area and its transformation. In this moment, Päivän peili invites the viewer to pause and reflect on time, nature, and environmental change. The slow and repetitive movement of the work offers an opportunity to stop and calmly observe the surroundings, light, and seasons.
Päivän peili offers something to see and experience for a long time. The movement, light, and surrounding vegetation constantly change its appearance. The work reacts to its environment and forms a new landmark in Asemanranta. Located very close to the railway station, Päivän peili also serves as a welcome to those arriving in the city. The paving patterns on the square guide passers-by from the station towards Mensanaukio and the artwork.
Helsinki-based visual artist and architect Johanna Rope is known particularly for her sculpture, spatial installations, and her drawing and painting. She is interested in the experience of time. The experience of time is always personal and physical. At the same time, in her thinking, the experience of time is connected to place and environment. Rope has been fascinated by combining repetitive bodily movement, such as breathing, with unexpected materials.
The work is part of the construction of the Asemanranta area and the public art program. Public art in Asemanranta is funded by a fee based on the area’s plot handover and land-use agreements. In these agreements, €8 has been reserved for art projects in the area for every square meter of floor space to be built. The first work in the Asemanranta public art program, sculptor Neeme Külmin’s Kartio, was unveiled in 2020.
Public art brings art into the daily lives of residents. Artworks located in public spaces increase the comfort of the environment, the sense of safety and community, and strengthen local identity. According to a survey commissioned by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland in 2024, 77 percent of Finns want art in their own everyday environment. Due to its size, the movement element included in the work, and its comprehensive implementation, it stands out as a unique entity among Hämeenlinna’s public art pieces.