Jatulintarha Stone Labyrinth was a team work by Melina Alexina, Minka Heino, Sini Helander, and myself for Community Art MAA, a project & course tutored by artist Jon Irigoyen at Art School MAA in Spring 2014. It was carried out in cooperation with Pajupalatsi (Willow Palace), a communal environmental art project by artists Petra Martinez and Antti Annanpalo, on an empty site next to the metro station in Vuosaari, Helsinki.
The layout of the labyrinth was based on the traditional Finnish Jatulintarha labyrinths: there are no dead ends, and you can always find your way out. The structure was built using stones and pieces of concrete and brick found on the site. A sunflower – a plant that provides food for the soul and the body – was planted in the centre.
The objective of our stone labyrinth was to bring joy and feeling of togetherness, and to represent life, sense of community, and the journey of life.
See Melina Alexina’s documentary about the project on Vimeo: