The Silent People

Travellers on Highway 5 are greeted by a peculiar sight of people-like figures.

The hay heads appeared first time when Reijo Kela created them as part of his Ilmarin kynnös performance. He created the People as part of the performance in the Lassila field at Suomussalmi.

The next appearance of these hay heads occurred in Helsinki in 1994 when the Kainuu region presented itself at Senaatintori. During the night, the People appeared on the stairs of Helsinki Cathedral. In the morning, there were 700 hay heads standing on the stairs, confounding the market place visitors and passers-by. When the event at Senaatintori was over, the People disappeared as abruptly as they had appeared.

For the third time, the Silent People stood silently on the beach of Jalonuoma in Ämmansaari in July 1994, when Reijo Kela and Heikki Laitinen and their partners caused a stir with their daring performance, Beautiful and brave, the shores’ raukat. The Silent People was placed in its current location in the fall of 1994. The hay heads are improved and dressed twice a year; the heads are obtained directly from the field, the clothes through organized collections. The workshop Hanslankarit, which has built and dressed the figures, they have also responsible for keeping them in good condition.

It is often asked what the Silent People really means. Outcasts? Dumb people from Kainuu? Forgotten ones? There is no answer from Reijo Kela. Let each viewer draw their own conclusions. The fact that if the Silent people is stripped, there will be a thousand crosses left.