Johanna Pöykkö: Oulun paloista säästynyt 1700-luvun perintötekstiili
Completion year: 2025
Technique: Burned, painted, used bedsheets
Size: 505x365cm
Keywords: Johanna Pöykkö, tuhottu, poltettu, tekstiili, tekstiilihistoria, tekstiiliperintö, perintötekstiili
Traditional textiles from the 18th century, saved from the Oulu fires
The Oulu Cultural Capital of the Year made me think about the sediment of stories layered here over time. What formed our culture? The city of Oulu has burned down 10 times. In the 1800s the city suffered two great fires. In 1822, 330 houses were destroyed, leaving only 65. After the fire, the Plaanaoja was dug out to create a protective area, to prevent fires from spreading. In the 1882 fire, 27 buildings were destroyed in the area right around the Valve Culture House. The older part of the culture house was built after this fire. In addition to these fires, the Northern Ostrobothnia Museum’s collection burned two times in the 1900s, and many of their local artifacts were destroyed.
What was destroyed in the fires? What would our textile history be without the fires? How is our cultural heritage formed? What have we managed to bring with us? What do we carry into the future? With these questions in mind, I began imagining what our textile heritage might look like. I studied photographs of decorative rugs from the 18th century, and from them, I took rhythms, patterns and colours. Because the technique is more than just tying knots with wool, the patterns and colours reveal commonalities from African batiks, Eastern carpets as well as patterns and colour themes from Sámi. I thought about how unified the cultural heritages of different peoples really are.