Kluuvinlahden fossiilit / Kluuvinlahti Fossils, Environmental artwork along Aleksanterinkatu, Helsinki, Finland.
Kluuvinlahti Fossils is an environmental artwork installed along Aleksanterinkatu with copper strips embedded in the sidewalks on both sides. The strips display Latin names of species that once inhabited this area.
The site was previously Kluuvinlahti bay, which extended from Töölönlahti until workers filled it in during the early 19th century as Helsinki developed. The artwork documents this vanished coastline and the life it once supported.
The copper strips display scientific names of plants and animals that once lived in the former bay. They help visitors remember the natural world that existed on this spot before the city was built.
The artwork runs along both sides of Aleksanterinkatu street near Senate Square and is easy to spot as you walk along the road. The copper strips are small and integrated into the pavement, so a close look while walking is worthwhile.
The installation names specific species like Cladophora Glomerata and Macoma Balthica that once lived in the bay. These scientific names blend urban daily life with forgotten ecology in an unexpected poetic way.
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