SculptureTurku · FI
Symbiosis
Symbiosis is a large stainless-steel sculpture on the bank of the Aura River in Turku, Finland, designed by the celebrated Finnish artist Stefan Lindfors and unveiled in June 2014. Part fish, part bird, and entirely of the sea, it rises in curved, scale-like steel plates beside the Forum Marinum maritime museum and the tall ship Suomen Joutsen, making it hard to miss for anyone strolling Turku's riverfront. What makes it unusual is that the work is never truly finished. Each shining "scale" and "feather" on its surface is a donated sheet of acid-resistant steel engraved with a donor's name, welded on as people chip in. All proceeds go to the Archipelago Sea Protection Fund, which channels the money into concrete local projects to clean and protect the waters off Turku—so the sculpture is simultaneously a piece of public art and a living fundraising campaign for the sea that inspired it.