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Installed in front of King Street West’s Theatre Park Condos, Jaakko Pernu’s sculpture, Runaway Forest, uses geometric forms to reflect the chaotic but beautiful nature of downtown. Inspired by burning trees, eight metal poles, “tree trunks,” stand in a pond of water. They are enclosed by a frame made up of dozens of criss-crossing aluminum ribbons. These “twigs” echo some design features seen nearby, such as the diagonal slashes that adorn the facade of Roy Thompson Hall. When viewed head-on, the sculpture’s tree forms seem to intertwine seamlessly.

The integration of this artwork has ultimately created a “go-to” meeting space in the front court of a busy and urban condo building.

The Finnish sculptor and environment artist, Jaakko Pernu, has been working with natural materials, often on large scales, for over 30 years. Many of Pernu’s works are inspired by his early life, when he helped his father construct wooden boats on the west coast of Finland. By observing his father’s techniques for manipulating wood, Pernu learned how to create elegant forms of his own. The materials that Pernu uses in his sculptures are often found near his installation sites, physically connecting the piece to the specific and local environment it is set to occupy.

Pernu has created many public works for sites around the world, with Canada being a country that he returns to often. Some of his installations can be found at the Oulu Museum of Art (Finland), the Kotka Sculpture Park (Korea), the Arte Stella (Italy), the Fortum (Moscow), Sculpture in the Wild (United States), the Vancouver Convention Centre (Canada), and Toronto’s Concord Park Place (Canada).