Awakening
Sakari Tohka
1955
Bronze
After the war, Vyborg-founded hardware store Oy Starckjohann & Co relocated to Lahti. The company’s new and modern commercial building was completed on Aleksanterinkatu in 1950. Five years later, the company donated Sakari Tohka’s statue Awakening to the city of Lahti on the occasion of the city’s 50th anniversary and the 15th anniversary of Starkjohann’s operations in Lahti.
According to the donor, the statue’s subject, a young woman waking up, symbolises the awakening and newly flourishing industry and businesses in Lahti, following the post-war fire suffered by the village. Stretched out, the maiden’s long legs establish a sinuous grace that counterbalances her taut, slightly twisted torso. The effect establishes an unhurried yet expectant mood. The work was modelled on the artist’s wife, Kyllikki.
Artwork on the map
Kirkkokatu 12, Lahti.
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