Stranding consists of a group of seven bronze sculptures. It was commissioned by the city of Helsinki for part of the Helsinki Biennial 2025.

For this work, I approached Vallisaari Island - the main location of Helsinki Biennial - as a natural refuge and recreational area that other species share with humans. Although swimming is not permitted for humans on the island, birds, otters and other non-human cohabitors are oblivious to the non-trespassing signs. My sculptural group on the rocky beach takes its shape from inflatable swimming toys. The toys imitating sea mammals were cast in bronze, locking them into a permanent condition of liminality. The half-inflated creatures are at once pitiful and cartoonishly amusing in their seemingly abandoned state.

Their silhouettes suggest a pod of stranded dolphins, the reason for which might be illness or human interference with their habitat, or a day at the beach that has inexplicably been suspended. The installation brings an ironic, playful and melancholic twist to the ever-growing presence of plastic waste by transforming it into permanent sculptures that simultaneously pay homage to the creatures they mimic.