This project was created during my studies of 'Environmental Art' at the Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland. One of my assignments was to create an artwork somewhere within a specific area of Helsinki's public space. The only guideline being this artwork was to be created in one day, complete from idea to fruition. For weeks I had been cycling past the location above and never had I thought second about it. These discarted logs seemed to be waiting to rot away. While every person passing by this piled-up mess did not give it a secon glance.

Pile of wooden beams

I immediately felt these logs presented many options. My first and most sticking impression was it resembled a game of mikado. Mikado is a well-known game where you need to pick up sticks from a jumbled pile, resembling the pile of logs as displayed above. By simply painting in the distinctive color codes associated with this game, the whole would soon resemble a giant game of Mikado; "Mikado for the gods".

Mikado for the gods 1

Mostly the humor of creating a giant game of mikado appealed to me. Mikado in such a big scale makes absolutely no sense. There is no way you are going to be able to move one of those logs out of the pile, not to mention doing it without moving another log. Nonetheless, I like the idea some people would try to play it, if only as a joke. Even more I am hoping for that moment where it is time to tidy up the location. When construction workers come by in their grip trucks and decide to play the game using their huge machinery, just once before they dispose of the pile. It is this final fantasy that puts a smile on my face.

Mikado for the gods 2 Mikado for the gods 3