A memorial grove for 22 July

The jury’s statement:

A memorial grove for 22 July is a well-composed and comprehensive memorial proposal that responds directly to the expectations and obligations formulated in the competition announcement. Tyrmi’s sculpture constellation of cut trees in bronze, together with asal and rye trees at human height, form a memorial grove or a clearing you can walk into. Both the bronze sculptures and the trees will be experienced differently during the day and throughout the seasons. Together, these variations and elements make up a total structure that constitutes the memorial site.

The terrorist attack, or rather the consequences of the terrorist attack (interrupted lives, interrupted universes) are surrounded by symbols of life, growth, but also healing, grief and contemplation. Together, the painful, the hard and the beautiful constitute a response to a societal need: how to speak the truth, how to live on, by remembering, by not forgetting? The memorial grove offers relief, a contribution to being able to bear the grief and loss.

However, the experience of loss is not minimised and is intensified in winter. It is alleviated in spring and summer when the leaves on the trees emerge and articulate hope and new beginnings. The group has delivered a strong proposal for the individual experience of 22 July.

The stump sculpture in bronze with the names of the murdered victims constitutes a tactile and solid experience, where the names are included as a meaningful element in the whole in a very good way.

The proposal successfully combines art and landscape architecture and is a good example of what different professional traditions (and strong professionals from them) can create together.