Birch Allé was a commissioned work created for the annual Naisten Kymppi, Finland’s largest sporting event for women, bringing together approximately 18,500 runners, joggers, and walkers of all ages in Helsinki each spring.
The concept for the work was developed by me, and the realization was carried out collaboratively with a group of fellow students. The resulting installation took the form of a birch allée rising from the water, marking a passage along the route.
The work draws a parallel to Venus emerging from the sea, while also engaging with the symbolic significance of the birch tree (Betula) in Nordic mythology and folklore. The birch is associated with growth, protection, renewal, hope, and purity.
As participants moved past the birch allée, the work framed physical endurance and collective movement through a symbolic landscape of emergence, continuity, and becoming.