Created for the sculpture park outside the Exhibition Centre WeeGee, Pekka Jylhä’s (b. 1955) The Rope Dancer (2025) reflects on the uncertainties of the future and the courage required when the world around us falters. The work is accompanied by a poem written by author and dramaturge Maria Peura:

I made it all the way,
I carried my own path
Now I am rewarded,
within me winds arise,
the world is torn in two
I stand firm

Translation: Christina Saarinen

“We are living in uncertain times, and it seems that the future of humanity on a fragile planet is at stake. In the midst of turmoil, I have sought a form and a story for our time. The Rope Dancer depicts a fragile moment: a human being who tries, despite everything, to make it to the end,” Pekka Jylhä explains.

The vision takes shape in a human figure bravely balancing on a large hoop in the shape of a planet. Inspired by Jylhä’s own daughter, the figure is both grounded and reaching upward towards the sky. The bright colours of the clothing symbolise belief in a positive future. “How can we leave behind something better than before?” the artist asks.

The artwork was realised in collaboration with EMMA, the City of Espoo, and the Saastamoinen Foundation.