The goal of the competition was to celebrate the friendship between the twin cities of Tartu and Tampere. The two-staged competition was launched in honour of Tartu's European Capital of Culture 2024 title, and it was targeted towards artists with a connection to Tartu. The winner of the competition was selected unanimously by a multidisciplinary and international jury. The jury was particularly impressed by the proposed artwork's playful and fun spirit. The artwork is simply so likeable that it puts its viewer in a good mood.
Kaselaan, who was born and raised in Tartu, is one of the rising stars of the Estonian art scene. The proposed artwork that Kaselaan drafted for the Tapiolanpuisto park consists of two groups of sculptures that will mostly be made out of concrete. The figures in the sculptures are minimalist, genderless and ageless. Bronze ducks have flown to rest on top of the figures. In the artist's own memories, the ducks are connected to the Tartu of his childhood.
Kaselaan’s works have been widely exhibited in different parts of Estonia and, in addition to gallery exhibitions, he has already produced several works in public spaces.
– It was great that this competition gave us an in-depth look into Estonia’s public art scene as well as local artists. All of the artworks submitted to the competition were excellent. The playfulness and approachability of Jass Kaselaan’s artwork were particularly appealing. It is wonderful to see an interesting and international piece added to the city's public art collection, says Janne Kauppinen, Coordinator of Public Art at the Tampere Art Museum.
The City of Tampere will make the final decision on the artwork's realisation. The goal is to complete the artwork by the summer of 2024.
