People from the village of Tuohela at the HUS Cancer Center in Helsinki

Archiater Risto Pelkonen’s (b. 1931) exhibition of charming bark sculptures The People of the Village of Tuohela is on permanent display in the premises of the new HUS Bridge Hospital, in the café lobby of the Cancer Center.

Known for his medical merits, archiater Pelkonen is a strong advocate of creativity and manual skills. He began his own artistic work by carving small bark figures for the delight of his children. Over the years, the characters formed their identities and personal traits, and a network of family ties with stories and secrets was woven between them. Eventually, an entire population of the village of Tuohela grew, an imaginary village set in eastern Finland in the 1950s.

Some of the figures from the village of Tuohela are in a hospital exhibition in Helsinki, bringing joy to patients, staff and visitors. The exhibition can be viewed when the Cancer Center’s café is open.

Risto Pelkonen has also written a book called Tuohelan kylän väki (The People of the Village of Tuohela). In the book, you can learn more about the personal characters of the bark people and the life of the village, as well as the life wisdom of the archiater that emerges from the stories. The book can be ordered from the publisher in Duodecim’s online store.

Text: Raija Kallioinen, MSL. Photos: Risto Pelkonen.