The Keiken artists’ collective’s Ángel Yōkai Atā, created by the Keiken artist collective, is located on the lawn of Kalasatama Park.
The artwork, familiar from the 2023 Helsinki Biennial, found a home in Kalasatama in September 2025. The work titled Ángel Yōkai Atā— (House of Angels and Spirits) was unveiled at a public event on September 12.
The work is Keiken artist collective and was originally shown at the 2023 Helsinki Biennial. The installation is part of the collective’s Morphogenic Angels project.
The work functions as a portal to another world
According to the artists, the multimodal installation is a portal to an imaginary world. The temple-like structure draws inspiration from Thai roadside temples and spiritual sites such as home altars. At the same time, it is built around the formation of identities in the internet age.
Ángel Yōkai Atā was originally exhibited at the biennial on the isthmus between Vallisaari and Kuninkaansaari. The title of the work combines Spanish and English (ángel/angel), Japanese (yōkai) and the Teenek language spoken by the Huastec indigenous people of Mexico (atā).
Inside the building, visitors can listen to the collective’s ethereal soundscape. Keiken encourages the audience to “approach the work with an open mind and simply be, to listen to their bodies, and, if they wish, to repeat this mantra: The spirit is not just a spiritual being—it is everything—and exploring the invisible is the practice of selfless compassion, omoiyari,” as stated in HAM’s press release.
The collection of environmental artworks in Kalasatama is expanding
Kalasatama already features works by Alicja Kwade, familiar from the 2021 Biennial, as well as Big-Be Hide as well as Pars Pro Toto at Capellanranta 2. In addition, located in Sompasaari Pekka Kauhanen’s Litistynyt houkka and Heini Aho’s A Land Washed Away by Thought.
Ángel Yōkai Atā is part of the Helsinki Biennial and KANAL – Centre Pompidou, with support from the Saastamoinen Foundation. The work has been curated by HAM Helsinki Art Museum.
The works in the area are part of a project involving not only HAM but also the City of Helsinki Executive Office, the Urban Environment Division, and the Culture and Leisure Division. Funding for the project comes from a per-square-meter fee collected from developers in the area.
In the future, Kalasatama will be home to works from the 2025 Helsinki Biennial, including Gunzi Holmström’s Far from the Darkness to the Great Blue. Information about the artwork’s new location will be announced at a later date.