The work of art "Police Vendace"

Police Vendace by Pekka and Teija Isorättyä is located in front of the police station on Villimiehenkatu street in Lappeenranta. The installation consists of nine vendace-shaped fish made of over ten thousand stainless steel rings welded together, along with some perforated stainless steel sheets. The length of one fish is about five metres. The work delights with its inventive use of material and light-hearted overall impression.

The good-natured school of vendace livens up the pedestrian and bicycle path on Villimiehenkatu. The fish come physically close the passers-by, who can feel they are surrounded by a school of vendace. Some of the fish are on street level, others swim on the walls and roof of the police station. 
The work is the result of an open art competition for a work of art for the Villimiehenkatu police station organised by the Finnish State Art Commission in collaboration with the City of Lappeenranta and Senate Properties in 2018. The commission was awarded to Pekka and Teija Isorättyä. 

 

According to the artists, they were angling when they got the idea of making a fish sculpture out of steel rings. “When you slice up a telescopic fishing rod, you get a range of ever larger rings. We used them to build the fish sculptures. The vendace is a characteristic fish species in the Lake Saimaa area.” 
The artist couple’s sculptures are often inspired by their explorations into places and situations where materials and structures come loose from their customary contexts. Pekka and Teija work in a four-handed manner, blending their individual thoughts and roles on purpose. In their sculptures the process manifests itself as surprising combinations of materials and techniques. Police Vendace has the appearance of having been crocheted from steel. The subject matter of the Isorättyäs’ works often refers to interrelations between humans, nature and technology.