Miia Salikoski is making final adjustments on a woman, risen from the sea but tangled in a fishing net. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today / Click to view gallery
She has ten minutes left until the time runs out at the flower decoration competition of florists.
She is making final adjustments on the mannequin at a light pole that stands tall above the busy road of Northern Esplanade in Helsinki center.
“My creation is a vision of a woman who has risen from the sea, like a mermaid, a wise woman nonetheless but is somehow tangled in a fishing net. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? I would say both,” said Miia Salikoski, a florist from Uusimaa region.
Salikoski is competing with nine other contestants. The competition is part of the Lovely Helsinki festival, which is dedicated to bringing flower art to the Helsinki center but also to attract visitors to explore the area.
Festival visitors touring the flower art exhibition in the city center can spot other artworks at the Market Square waterfront, inside the Stockmann department store, at hotels, and in the Kluuvi shopping center.
The visitors can vote for their favorite artwork at the light poles during the festival, May 23-26.
