Art Utopia Wiki

Kaikki on mahdollista — Villu Jaanisoo, Helsinki

Villu Jaanisoo’s Everything Is Possible in Helsinki: a seated gorilla built from overlapping black car tyres in front of a curved glass building on the Viikki campus
Artwork FileHelsinki, Finland

Kaikki on mahdollista

Gone2018

Villu Jaanisoo · used car tyres, 2009 · Viikki campus, Helsinki, Finland · English title: Everything Is Possible

Photo: Panu Lempiäinen (Instagram @lepanu, 10 May 2014), as published on Street Art Utopia. Artwork: Villu Jaanisoo.

Villu Jaanisoo built a seated gorilla about five metres tall from used car tyres for the University of Helsinki’s Viikki campus. It won a 2006 invited competition, was finished in 2009 and stood outside the Korona information centre until a fire destroyed it on 10 January 2018. Source Source Source Checked

Gone 2018. Evidence date: 2018-01-10. MTV Uutiset reported that morning that the tyre gorilla had burned in the night and that the work was completely destroyed; the State Art Commission called it arson the next day, and Yle wrote on 5 February 2018 that only the supporting structures and remains of the tyres were left. Source Source Source Checked

💡 4 things to know

  1. A gorilla made of tyresThe five-metre sculpture was made from used car tyres and belonged to the collection of the Finnish National Gallery and the State Art Commission. Source Checked
  2. A competition winnerThe work was commissioned after an invited competition in 2006. The jury described Jaanisoo’s proposal as a timely statement on consumption, recycling, nature conservation and animal rights. Source Source Checked
  3. A quiet observerJaanisoo said, as Yle reported, that he built a silent observer from used tyres to bring questions of human origins, responsibility and the future close to everyone, and hoped it would bring joy alongside serious research and study. Source Source Checked
  4. Lost in one nightFirefighters were called just after 4:30 a.m.; a fire officer told MTV Uutiset the flames reached the height of the three-storey university building; MTV reported the work was completely destroyed. Source Checked

📍 Where it is

Former site: in front of the Korona information centre and Viikki campus library, Viikinkaari 11, Helsinki, Finland Source Source Source Checked

Open in Maps

Map pin from OpenStreetMap’s Viikki library at Viikinkaari 11. The work is gone, so the button opens a plain map of the site.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 200924 Sep

    University announces the unveiling

  2. 200929 Sep

    Yle reports the gorilla has arrived

  3. 20146 May

    Photo by Harald Bøhn

  4. 201410 May

    Instagram photo by Panu Lempiäinen (our photo)

  5. 201810 Jan

    Destroyed by fire in the night

  6. 201811 Jan

    State Art Commission reports arson

  7. 20185 Feb

    Only supports and tyre remains left

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

🗞️ In the sources

Yle29 September 2009

Giant rubber gorilla arrives in Viikki

“Villu Jaanisoon viisimetrinen gorilla istuu Viikin tiedekirjaston edessä.”

“Villu Jaanisoo’s five-metre gorilla sits in front of the Viikki science library.”

Read the source →

MTV Uutiset10 January 2018

Giant gorilla artwork burns in the night

“Liekit löivät kolmekerroksisen yliopistotalon korkeudelle”

“The flames reached the height of the three-storey university building” — fire officer Juha Laine of Helsinki Rescue Department.

Read the source →

✅ The facts

Artist
Villu Jaanisoo Source Source Checked
Title
Kaikki on mahdollista (Everything Is Possible) Source Source Checked
Material
Used car tyres Source Source Checked
Size
About 5 metres high (“almost five metres” in the university’s announcement) Source Source Checked
Commission
Invited competition in 2006; State Art Commission / Finnish National Gallery collection Source Checked
Unveiling
Announced for 1 October 2009 at 13:00, during the Viikki campus open day Source Source Reported
Place
Outside the Korona information centre, Viikinkaari 11, Viikki campus, Helsinki Source Source Checked
Status
Destroyed by fire on 10 January 2018 Source Source Source Checked

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Photo: Panu Lempiäinen (Instagram @lepanu, 10 May 2014), as published on Street Art Utopia. Artwork: Villu Jaanisoo.

Last checked: 27 October 2026 · How we verify art