In Oulu’s marketplace stands a sculpture the locals refer to as the “Toripolliisi”, roughly translated to the “marketplace police officer”. The sculpture was made by the Finnish artist Kaarlo Mikkonen, starting in 1985 and ending in 1987. This statue was Kaarlo’s first and final public statue. Why he made it, remains unclear. The statue represents the 3 police officers that used to work at the market place. In 1985, there was a collection among the citizens of Oulu to raise money to erect the sculpture. The amount of money the collection brought in was followed in the local papers. The collection was sped up with a campaign of challenges and with selling miniature statues, post cards, and cookies with the figure of the officer on them. The bronze officer at the Market Place was unveiled in September 1987.
text and picture: Sam van der Plas
