Quercus robur

Sculptor Noora Schroderus’s (b. 1982) site-specific artwork Quercus robur (2021) spreads across multiple floors in the spacious lobby of Aurum, which is shared by Åbo Akademi University’s Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Department of Chemistry at the University of Turku. The work consists of an oak trunk, branches and leaves cast in aluminium bronze. The oak parts’ shimmery gold polish is a nod to its home, Aurum, which was named after the Latin word for gold. Schroderus’s work won an art competition co-organised by the State Art Commission, University Properties of Finland Ltd, Åbo Akademi University and the University of Turku in 2019. The work was unveiled at the building’s opening on 3 November 2021.

Schroderus debuted in 2014 and typically uses elements such as human hair, fabrics and embroidery threads in her works, which have lately focused on challenging hierarchies and power structures. Accordingly, the artist was insistent that no living trees or the beings living in them were harmed in creating Quercus robur, which is why the work’s mould was cast from a forest oak cut by the City of Salo’s gardener.

Emma Vuolaslempi 2024