Installation — Sauna Stone Lab

Sauna Stone - Test Site
2024

Sauna Stone — Test Site showcased the Metamorphosis of a Sauna Stone in a performative exhibition that merges design and sauna under one roof in Kulttuurisauna. Over four weeks, Kulttuurisauna evolved into a test site where the materials were actively tested by placing them in various environments. Sculptures and material samples found their way into the sauna, washing spaces, common room, and garden to find out their limits. Throughout the event, the installation continually grew, emphasizing the nature of the materials’ metamorphic process.

The Sauna Stone — Test Site installation integrates seamlessly into its setting, a functioning sauna building. Instead of altering the space’s original purpose, the exhibition allows the objects, material samples, and media to blend naturally into the environment.

In the communal area, a curated arrangement of rocks and material samples is displayed on the central table, a surface typically used for magazines and books enjoyed by sauna visitors. For the exhibition, the table becomes a focal point, presenting the exhibition book alongside the material samples to narrate the transformation of sauna stones. Visitors are encouraged to sit, read, and interact with the materials, transforming the space into an immersive reading and discovery area.

Additionally, custom-designed sauna door handles are mounted on the doors, inviting guests to touch and explore these new creations as part of their sauna experience. Other unique objects and designs are showcased throughout the space, demonstrating the diverse potential of the materials developed in the project.

Sauna Stone - Test Site exhibition in Kulttuurisauna, 2024.

Photography by Henri Vogt