THE COAL ORGAN
2026
The Coal Organ is a sound sculpture focusing on the biggest contributor to climate change, coal burning. Jaakko was granted access to Finland's last (and now defunct) coal fired power station during its final operating days to record the sounds of its massive machinery, including coal pulverizers, turbines and ambiences of its underground coal silos and tunnels that reach the depth of 120+ meters below sea level, the deepest point of the city of Helsinki.
The work consists of a three channel sound work that was crafted of the recorded material, resulting in a constantly evolving texture rich soundscape. For its visual counterpart, Jaakko edited previosly unpublished SEM (scanning electron microscope) images of particles emitted from a coal fired power plant into a series of three abstract pieces, which were printed onto plywood boards with customized speaker mounts.
3 speakers, 60x60cm plywood boards, stands, media player, constantly changing loop
Supported by: Finnish Cultural Foundation, the North Savo Regional Fund
Photos from the power plant recording: Juuso Martikainen
