Green flag of knowledge
15.10.2025
Artist group: Aimo Aikio, Tero Harju, Tuuli Malla, Erja Taskinen
Location → Toppilansaari nature path, Oulu MAP
Time → Fri 29.5.2026 – Sat 6.6.2026 at 11-18 daily
The name Kollʼješkuätt is Skolt Sámi and means “beginning to be heard”. The artwork consists of a sound path, where the sounds of the living environment are also part of the experience.
The work includes seven speakers covered with birchbark and wood, from which the audience can hear e.g. how Heini Wesslin tans animal skins, Tauno Porsanger ice fishes in Sevettijärvi and Gunn-Marie Trasti recites a poem. The recordings also include the soundscape of Nilijoki and Näätämöjoki, both in summer and winter. Most of the recordings were recorded in 2022–2023 in Sevettijärvi, Neiden and Kirkkoniemi. In addition, Mari Matvei’s leuʹddes (Skolt Sámi vocal music) from the archives of the Finnish Literature Society from 1922 are included.
The artwork was presented for the first time in the courtyard of the Ä’vv Skolt Sámi Museum in Neiden in the summer of 2023. Back then the Skolt Sámi language work was starting on the Norwegian side of the Skolt Sámi region, and the name of the work Kollʼješkuätt or “starting to hear” also referred to this. In 2025, Skolt Sámi place names have finally been included in the signs in Neiden, which is one concrete indication of how the Skolt Sámi language becomes more visible and audible.
The Kollʼješkuätt artwork brings voices from the home region of the Skolt Sámi people to Oulu as well.
In the recordings: Lenita Moshnikoff Buljo, Tero Harju, Tauno Porsanger, Gunn-Marie Trasti, Elina Vuoti, Heini Wesslin, Nilijoki, Neidenjoki.
Accessibility
Accessibility for people with reduced mobility: The work is located on the Toppilansaari nature trail. The trail is a gravel and forest road. The nearest parking lot is located on Pitkämöljäntie, before the Toppilansaari marina. The distance from the parking lot to the trail is approximately 300 meters. The nearest bench for resting is located at the campfire site on Fokkatie. There are more benches continuing along the road.
Accessibility through the senses: The work is a sound trail that can be heard and seen.
Image gallery
Artists:
Aimo Aikio is a musician who is a member e.g. in the Nuõrtt band that combines music and dance.
Tero Harju is an artist whose working materials are wood and words in Skolt Sámi and Finnish.
Tuuli Malla is an installation and performance artist whose work often begins by listening to places and people.
Erja Taskinen is a multicultural visual artist who is fascinated by the ability of visual language to guide or mislead.
