Pile

Lanu Park in Lahti was built between 1989 and 1992. The city of Lahti commissioned a total of 12 sculptures from Olavi Lanu to be placed in the deciduous Kariniemenmäki forest. The starting point of the sculptures was the body of work Lanu created for the Venice Biennale in 1978, entitled Life in the Finnish Forest, in which he explored the relationship between humanity and nature in various ways. Cast in concrete at the Renkomäki gravel pit, the sculptures in the park imitate natural materials. Blending in with their surroundings, the sculptures were all sited by the artist himself.

Olavi Lanu (1925–2015) was a visual artist, teacher and prominent figure in the Lahti art scene.

Standing three metres tall, Pile depicts a human figure sitting on an anthill. The hunched figure with its legs crossed and head hanging is easily associated with feelings of loneliness and depression, yet the ambiguous work can also be seen as a manifestation of profound peace of mind and contemplative tranquillity. Not without humorous overtones, the piece was modelled after the artist’s wife, Tarja Lanu. Pile is a reproduction of a fibreglass sculpture exhibited at the Venice Biennale that has since been destroyed. It was based on an even earlier work placed over a real anthill.

Artwork on the map

In Lanu Sculpture Park. – Kariniemenpuistotie 49, Lahti.
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