Veijo’s decision to make art from concrete, one of the most durable of materials, is obviously related to the motif of the battle against time. Of course, even concrete is not immune to the ravages of time: moss sneaks onto the shoulders of the concrete peopleand lichen decorates their faces with colourful masks. The changes are slow, almost invisible, but the photographic record enables us to observe them. While the pictures of the sculptures, taken over the years, depict the tricks that the seasons and time have played, they also illustrate the drawn out decay of the works. These images of slowly ageing works form the family album of the silent sculptures.

I visited Veijo Rönkkönen’s sculpture garden a few years ago, and it was creepy and incredible. Especially the eyeballs and teeth set into the concrete faces. And since I found this article at Books from Finland (via wood s lot), I’ll mention (again?) my two favorites: Aarto Paasilinna’s Year of the Hare, and Johanna Sinisalo’s Troll.