Alice Baillaud: Life Cycle

Life Cycle by Alice Baillaud (b.1975) was designed specifically for the courtyard of Kaskenlinna hospital. This sculpture reflects the cycle of life through the flowerbeds that change throughout the year and the human silhouettes depicting different stages of life. These silhouettes include a mother carrying her child, a young man, and an elderly couple looking tenderly at each other. One side of the silhouettes is made of corten steel and the other is mirrored. The mirrored sides reflect the environment and the people in it, thus creating an impression of transparency.

Baillaud’s artwork and the birches planted next to it help break the notable difference in scale between the courtyard and the huge hospital building. The artist aspired to create a harmonic ensemble that changes with the seasons and the years.

Life Cycle was realised in cooperation between the City of Turku and the French organisation Art dans la Cité which has produced works of modern art for hospitals all over the world. Alice Baillaud is both an artist and a landscape architect.