Love is a human condition remarkably well suited for getting people into trouble with one another. "Thirty-Second Love Songs" is a surreal animated short film contemplating the earthly issues of a divided family. The story is seen from the perspective of outer space and narrated in second person using tree pruning instructions as a metaphor for constructive domestic peacekeeping.

"Thirty-Second Love Songs shows a wonderfully designed world, in which humour, sadness, incomprehension, wonder and starting afresh go hand in hand. Virtanen displays an environment that is both recognizable and yet at the same time intangible and highly imaginative. It is as though Virtanen wants to show how the momentum of meaning changes when it is experienced from a different perspective."

— Maze de Boer, artist
Judge of the Overduin Award 2016

installation views

Format: animated short film
Length: 10:00min
Sound: 5.1 surround

Hidden Thunder is a light installation based on a one-pixel camera. It inverts the rhythm, color and luminance of a candle and uses this information to control a projection. This project is an ongoing research of mine on various rhythms of light, and if — like in the case of sound and hearing — it is possible to recognize the source without seeing it.

Special thanks to my new little friends Timo and Aino for their bravery.

"Church Without a Ceiling" is a project about church closings, and how financial trouble is causing different churches to share spaces together.

In The Netherlands up to a thousand church buildings are to be closed or sold by the year 2025. For many, especially in rural areas, this means an abrupt and emotional end to the tradition of gathering together. In the meanwhile, smaller church communities have been in steady rise, especially in The Hague area, founded by people originally from outside of the Netherlands. After strong initial resistance, they were recognized as important factors in helping newcomers integrate more swiftly into the Dutch society.

These small parishes don't, however, have proper spaces to gather in.

Special thanks to

New Covenant Church of God, Schiedam
Youth Dominion Church, The Hague, and
Acts Revival Church International, The Hague

The Hague Lutheran Church:
Nigel Lamb & Iddo van der Giessen

Mirjam Zweers / Het Nutshuis
Guus Rijven / KABK
Dennis Postma / Het Nutshuis

Robin de Jong / STEK Den Haag
Janine Koppers / PEP Den Haag

Scenographer and costumer: Marta Sieczak

Models: Pawel Androsiuk
and Agnieszka Findysz

Special thanks: Anna Zawadzka and Adventure Warsaw / Muzeum PRL for the locations, and Marta Kowalska for the additional research help.

Photographed in Praga, Warsaw, Poland.

During my internship in 2015 I was trusted with the task of designing a 112-meter-long image of clouds for Studio Roosegaarde and the Amsterdam Airport.

As the lead 2D designer, I was responsible for the composition, digital quality control and how the story evolves in relation to the physical building. The founder of the studio, Daan Roosegaarde, describes the artwork as follows:

“In the midst of Schiphol Airport’s bustle, ‘Beyond’ creates a place of wonder and identity: our Dutch light and sky. Looking at the clouds, people start dreaming again and find their own stories in them.”

The permanent artwork — currently the biggest lenticular print in the world — is located at Departure Hall 3 of Amsterdam Airport in Schiphol and is accessible to all travellers free of charge. Images and video courtesy of Studio Roosegaarde.

I’m fascinated by conflicts due to my personal history. When I pick up undercurrents of aggression, fear and the ego around me, I strive to redirect them with a touch of humor. I believe there’s an underlying simplicity in misunderstandings often found in relationships, and would like to see my work as a mediator between human issues.

02 — 08/2015
Concept Artist at Studio Roosegaarde

2010
Full-time mobile UI & web designer at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

Since 2007
Freelance graphic designer & photographer