Niko has difficulty identifying animals

Niko chooses the coat of arms for Lapua. He runs to the shed with Pilvi in tow, repeating aloud what he had seen on the card.

He does not get off to a promising start, however, as the first thing he remembers is a “big black something”. To represent this, Niko pulls out an aromipesä (‘aroma nest’) cooking pot (previously seen as part of several bingo machines), claiming that it had immediately spoken to him.

Niko tells Pilvi that he knows that the man featured in the coat of arms was riding something, and that believes it to have been a horse, only to then change his mind and claim instead that it was “some kind of black dragon”. This is a fortuitous decision, as he then finds a dinosaur costume in the shed that he can use in his recreation.

Niko arranges his chosen objects on the ground – in addition to the aromipesä and the dinosaur costume, he has also added a pair of gloves and a construction helmet – only to realise that he is missing the actual man from his coat of arms. He jokes that, in a pinch, Pilvi would likely be able to pass as male.

Niko also takes the time to draw and colour large letters on individual sheets of paper, in order to spell out the name of his town which was present on the original card.

A few minutes before his time runs out, Niko realises that his creation has no body, so he sheds his jacket in order to provide one. In doing so, he also remembers that the man in the coat of arms had a sword (actually, it was a club), so he provides one in the form of a toy spear.

As Niko puts the final touches on his recreation, Pilvi asks if he has ever been to Lapua. Niko replies that he has not, and doubts he will ever receive an official invitation to do so, after his coat of arms is shown.

As Pilvi and Niko look down upon his creation, Niko informs Pilvi that if she is confused by it, she’s “probably looking at it from the wrong angle” (conveniently ignoring the text that would imply that she is, in fact, looking at it correctly). Pilvi then sarcastically responds that the change of angle has made everything much more clear.

Niko’s recreation could generously be called a minimalist approach. When compared side-by-side with the actual coat of arms, his intention is clear, and some similarities can be seen (mostly in the shape), but it is completely unrecognisable when divorced of the context of the original picture.

When Jaakko challenges Niko to name two commonalities shared by the coat of arms and his recreation, Niko points out “the man” and “the elk”. There is an awkward silence in the studio, before Niko realises what he has said, and quickly clarifies that he’d meant to say it was a bear. He attempts to cover his mistake by claiming that “the artist got himself flummoxed”.

Jaakko awards Niko third place.

(Written by Jenny R and proofread by Karl Craven)

(Illustrations collected by Jenny R and adjusted by Karl Craven)