Pia Sirén, Big Botanic.
Sketch 2023.
Lönnström Project 7
Big Botanic
Pia Sirén | 2023–2025
Parpansali sand field, Rauma 4 October –30 November 2025
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 2 pm–7 pm, Sat-Sun 12 pm–6 pm
The work is partially accessible.
This autumn, Big Botanic will arrive in the very heart of Rauma – in a BIG way. This extraordinary spatial sculpture, created by artist Pia Sirén, will be constructed from weather protection scaffolding and translucent sheeting. Stepping inside will transport visitors from the darkness of October and November straight into another reality: the illusion of a lush, blossoming botanical garden, bursting with greenery. But the plants in this garden haven’t been imported from distant lands – they’re organisms sculpted from standard construction materials such as sheeting, buckets, timber, hoses and zip ties.
Big Botanic covers an area of about 500 square metres and reaches a height of 12 metres. Just like in real botanical gardens, the major eye-catchers include palm trees that almost brush the ceiling.
Botanical gardens have been established around the whole world for research and education. Among the inspirations for Big Botanic is the famous Jardin des Plantes in Paris, which also influenced the design of the striking water feature that will form part of the finished piece. For two months, visitors to the Parpansali field in Rauma can enter a holistic, immersive space that feels at once vividly real and unmistakeably artificial. Big Botanic invites visitors to linger, to embark on imaginary journeys, and to explore the artist’s playful use of materials. It also encourages us to consider modern humanity’s relationship with nature and the longing for distant and unknown places that exotic plants evoke in us.
Big Botanic will also serve as an events venue, hosting a series of unique concerts and workshops throughout October and November.
Pia Sirén uses materials not typically associated with art. Supplies commonly found on building or renovation sites are not generally considered either beautiful or interesting. Things like scaffolding and sheeting are used only for building, repairing or protecting something that is of greater value. In Big Botanic, the artist’s creative vision makes these humble, everyday materials bloom into intriguing sculptures. When the work is eventually dismantled, nothing will go to waste, all materials will be reused in Sirén’s future works or returned to their original purposes.
Sculptor Pia Sirén creates spatial sculptures – artificial landscapes built from hardware store supplies. Her work invites new ways of seeing everyday reality, revealing beauty in unexpected materials. She has held numerous solo exhibitions and participated in group shows in Finland and abroad. She has created several temporary public artworks. Big Botanic is Pia Sirén’s largest to date. She lives and works in Loviisa.
In collaboration with Telinekataja Oy, Bravida Finland Oy
With thanks for support to: Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Finnish Heritage Agency, Kone Foundation
Performances and events at Big Botanic
Big Botanic will host a wide range of performances and events in October and November. Come and hear plant stories told by Rauma residents in the form of new musical performances, or an electronic concert based on the soundscape of Big Botanic! An afternoon of classical music will create an atmospheric moment among greenery. In the workshops suitable for all ages, you can get your hands on materials characteristic of Pia Sirén and create your own seedling sculptures.
All events are free of charge. Those marked with an asterisk (*) require ticket reservations!
Seedling workshop
In the self-guided workshop, you can create a plant sculpture from surprising materials whenever Big Botanic is open.
Pia Sirén will be guiding and assisting at the workshop
- Sat 4 October 2–4 p.m.
- Sat 8 November Seedling workshop, 2–4 p.m.
Sat 11 October and 29 November Plant Based Stories Concert 6 p.m.*
Plant Based Stories is based on stories and memories related to plants, as told by residents of Rauma. Musicians Mirella Pendolin, Ada Katz, and Esko Grundström have composed and written lyrics based on stories collected in spring 2025, creating tailor-made musical pieces for Big Botanic. The songs combine pop, jazz, schlager, and ethnic music. The performances are complemented by the Rauma women’s choir Rauma Flikkatten Göör. The concert inside a weather protection scaffolding, surrounded by artificial plants, is a unique experience!
Sat 18 October Lau Nau – an Electronic Concert for Plants
Composer and sound artist Lau Nau (Laura Naukkarinen) uses a modular synthesizer, singing voices, and field recordings from Big Botanic as her instruments. The performance combines site-specific sound art with compositions inspired by nature. The 7th grade music class at Hj. Nortamo Elementary School has participated in the preparation of the concert by recording sounds with Lau Nau inside Big Botanic. In the concert, these sounds are woven into the soundscape of the performance. Lau Nau’s first concert in Rauma!
Sat 22 November An Afternoon of Classical Musis, 1–3 p.m.
Young musicians Kaisa Kettula (flute), Aida Mustonen (flute), and Toni Starck (cello) transport listeners to an early classical landscape, where nimble flute melodies and dialogues with light cello accompaniment fill a sunny garden. The peaceful and light-hearted Trio Sonata in G major by Italian-born Giovanni Benedetto Platti conjures up images of a leisurely afternoon and a flower-scented garden. The listener can pick out birdsong from the light, virtuoso flute themes of Austrian composer Joseph Haydn’s London Trio No. 1 in C major. In the middle sections of the composition, the music creates an image of the conversations of people visiting the garden in the form of dialogues between flutes and cello.
Free guided tours inside Big Botanic
- Wed October 22 at 5.30 p.m. in Finnish
- Thu October 23 at 5.30 p.m. in English
- Wed November 12 at 5.30 p.m. in Finnish
- Thu November 13 at 5.30 p.m. in English
- Wed November 19 at 5.30 p.m. in Finnish
- Sun 30 November Last day of Big Botanic in Rauma. Meet and Greet with Pia Sirén 2–4 p.m.