Laura Sayers Illustration

One of my favourite paper pieces to make for my current exhibition was this one, based on a hidden gem in Helsinki, the Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall 🏊🏻‍♀️ I had a couple of days out in the city while I was staying in Finland, and I was considering going for more day trips just for the joy of swimming here! The building was designed in the 1920s by Väinö Vähäkallio, and is such a tranquil space to be, with separate days for men and women, saunas and a bar, and the option of wearing a swimming costume (my British family were in shock 😳). I actually felt quite emotional bobbing around with all these ladies of different ages, embracing their bodies and taking time out of their days to be in community and look after themselves in such a beautiful space. You can’t take photos inside, so I wanted to try and capture the place in a little paper scene. Afterwards my Finish friend Saara introduced me to her dad, a master potter, who handmade some of the tiles for the pool when it recently reopened. 💙

You can still see this piece and more at .41 for this weekend only, and afterwards it’ll be heading to my next exhibition which I’ll post lots about soon!

Last couple of snaps taken by and the two in the middle can be found on ’s website.