The artist talks about the birth of the Rapids Pilot

Jussi Ruusulampi

When the search for artists for the Sanginkontu art trail began, it was hoped that the works produced would relate to the history of the area and life in the local villages.

Tar boats that travelled along the Oulujoki River are a central part of the region’s history. A lot of the tar was produced in Kainuu, from where it was transported along waterways to be sold in Oulu. Local rivermen, or rapids pilots, were hired to guide the boats through the rocks.

Since I’m interested in wooden boats and the historical tar trade, the transport of tar was an obvious choice of subject for my work.

Tar boats were 10–14 metres long, so making a full-scale vessel would have been an arduous job. I also wanted my sculpture to express movement, instead of feeling static, so I ended up making a boat that is diving into the rapids, with only the stern and the standing steersman visible.

I assembled the sculpture from scrap metal that I screwed and welded together. The material used included an aluminium water tank, oil drums, roofing sheet, pipe and other junk. I turned the water tank into the hull of the boat, which I covered with sheet metal. I used sheet metal to give the oil drums the appearance of tar barrels.

The challenge was making the steersman look natural. In the end I achieved this by making a stick man out of pipes; I measured my own body to get the proportions right. I bent the skeleton into the desired position and welded the joints. I then formed the rest of the body around the skeleton using sheet metal and spray painted the surfaces.

The sculpture was transported to the site in a trailer, which had to be pulled by a tractor. We placed stones around the work to not only support the boat but also create the impression of rapids.

It took almost a hundred hours and about 800 screws to create the sculpture. I could have spent another couple of days finishing the work, but I had reached the deadline I had set for myself. The work was slowed by rain, but otherwise everything went as planned.

It was great to be involved in this project. A big thank you to the project leaders and to Raimo and Aimo, who were a great help in moving the sculpture and transporting the stones!

RAPIDS PILOT, sculpture, Jussi Ruusulampi, scrap metal, spray paint (2025).