Mosaic pieces fall from 1988 artwork onto Kuopio street

Pieces of a large mosaic artwork detached and fell onto a pedestrian area in Kuopio, eastern Finland, on Tuesday evening, Yle reports. The 1988 installation, titled Lip-la-tus, is located on the exterior wall of the Sektori shopping centre near the city’s market square.

Building manager Tomi Makkonen told Yle that an immediate inspection revealed additional loose fragments, which were removed by tapping each piece with a rubber mallet. Protective barriers will now be placed on the street below the artwork while further assessments are carried out by construction professionals.

The three-metre-wide, 12.5-metre-tall mosaic was designed by Kuopio-based artist Marja Kolu and produced by the Leningrad Mosaic Workshop of the USSR Academy of Arts. Installed in 1988, it is considered Finland’s first major outdoor mosaic wall work.

Tiina Kaartinen, executive director of the Kuopio Social Democratic Workers’ Association—which owns the property—stated that the artwork will be repaired rather than removed. The incident was first reported by Savon Sanomat.