The Olla-station is a ceramic artefact composed of three hand-built elements made from Finnish earthenware clay. The pool gathers water inside the tank, leaving some water on top for birds to bathe, drink and fertilise the water. Between the tank and the shell, a layer of soil is situated. The porous terracotta material allows water to irrigate the soil through the tank’s wall. Plants can then grow from the holes of the shell part, simultaneously letting them make their own root objects in the layer of soil.
Since plants are often valued from a viewpoint of what they provide for humans, the initial idea to create the Olla-station emerged from the thought of making a space where plants could act as the makers. Through the process of making with, for, and from plants, the Olla-Station served as a tool for observing them and reflect the relationship with the non-human world. Beyond its function for plants, Olla-station worked as a small ecosystem where humans and other non-humans, such as birds, spiders, and pollinators, encountered.
From 2022 to 2024, the Olla station was located at the center of the Alusta pavilion, in the yard between the Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Design Museum.
Photo credits: Aarni Tujula
Photo credits: Aarni Tujula
Photo credits: Aarni Tujula
Photo credits: Aarni Tujula
Photo credits: Anne Kinnunen