Kalle Turakka Purhonen (born 1974) is a multi-artist graduated from Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts.
Hommage à Halonen – Honkahovi
“Hommage à Halonen” is an environmental art work in which I wrap orange plastic construction site fence around the trunks of living pine trees. The work is three dimensional landscape painting. A reddish pine tree is a typical element in Finnish national romantic paintings. It is also a symbol of “green gold”, the wealth of Finnish paper- and timber industry. The construction site fence symbolizes the change – tearing apart and building, both in the woods and in the national identity.
The name “Homage à Halonen” is a reference to two persons. Pekka Halonen (1865-1933) was a famous Finnish painter who, among other things, painted national romantic landscapes. Tarja Halonen (1943-) was Findlands first female president; very popular, red haired and known for her work for a society more economically and sexually equal.
I built “Homage à Halonen – Honkahovi” in Mänttä 2008. Mänttä is a little city in central Finland, famous for both wood industry and supporting art. “Honkahovi” (translated more or less as “pine palace”) is a beautiful house built by the local paper industry family Serlachius. The place has since worked also as an exhibition place.
