Helsinki Cathedral
Miika Riikonen: Nikolainkirkko

This light installation by Miika Riikonen, who will turn 37 in 2015, pays tribute to the almost 163 year-old Helsinki Cathedral and honours the 80th birthday of Finnish composer Aulis Sallinen. The installation is an exceptional anti-spectacle. The artwork does not aim to make the monument ever bigger: it seeks to highlight the multiform design of the Cathedral and its architecture. With light, Riikonen picks up details from the architecture that are not part of architect Carl Ludvig Engel's original design. 

Having been involved in the creation of various illuminations of the Cathedral, Riikonen is now keen to present his own version. The duration of the piece will be approximately six minutes.

Light installation: Miika Riikonen
Tuomiokirkko (Cathedral): Architect Carl Ludvig Engel, completed by Ernst Bernhard Lohrmann
Music: Aulis Sallinen – Metamorfora Op. 34, performed by Ilkka Paananen and Saara Hakkila


Photos: Jussi Ratilainen

Performance time: Daily from 5 pm to 10 pm

Miika Riikonen is a resident of Helsinki, who began his career in light and video design in Jyväskylä at the end of the 90s. He has created lighting and video effects for pop groups, festivals, television, corporate events, operas, dance performances and theatres. A Bachelor of Arts (Theatre and Drama), Riikonen graduated in Lighting and Sound Design from the Theatre Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki in 2012. 

Back to top