Hertta Puhakka

About the Artist

Hertta Puhakka (b. 2003) constructs her sculptures from scrap metal. Her sheet metal reliefs centre around plastic composition, structures, rhythms and colours. Landscapes emerge upon the scrap metal, and corrugated steel transforms into clouds in the sky. Artisanship and the traditions of sculpture are essential to Puhakka’s practice. 

Exhibitions

BFA Exhibition

11 Sept–11 Oct Kuva/Tila

About the artwork

I watch the current from safety, at the edge of a small island. What I see is mine. An asp leaps to the surface, it can’t be fooled, boasting. Nor can anyone fool me. Just try. Even the Vikings tried here, and back then, the beacon fires were lit on the hillfort. Later, the State Aircraft Factory was dug deep into the bedrock. Beneath the Iron Age dwellings, they’re now servicing fighter jet engines. The asp dives, disappears. The defence industry’s key low-profile surface vessel glides through its seascape, blending into the island. From its shelter, I observe the events unfolding around me.

In scrap metal, I captured a landscape – my very own, from my grandma’s island. Everyone’s Finnish landscape.