Aarre (Treasure)

Aarre (“Treasure“) was a collaborative public video work by Nuutti Koskinen and Minna Långström. It was commishioned by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (TAIKE) for the Silmänjuhla media arts event in Salo, Finland. The film was projected using four projectors on a monumental glass window above the main entrance to the bus station and shopping centre main entrance in Salo, a city between Turku and Helsinki in southern Finland. The projection formed a box, such that the “treasures” in the video appeared to be floating in an aquarium-like space, slowly whirling towards the viewer.

The starting point of the piece is the question of the meaningfulness of objects which act as reference points in the creation of memories, places and identities. The work presents “treasures” collected from people, which are usually monetarily worthless, but personally meaningful.