On the Border of Existence, Kaamosgallery, Kuusamo
Solo exhibition in September 2016
“For several years now, I have been photographing near allotments. Those places are kind of the core of the whole system we are living in, in a small scale of course. I see the allotments as a part of a bigger picture: us people trying to solve the mystery of life by growing things, or at least trying to grow things and especially expecting things to grow. And still it is a very current problem to solve for us: how to feed the people in the globe now and in the future. Somehow I feel that our survival is on the edge. Or at least the later generation’s survival. Are we going to loose it?
I am interested in the code that is in the plants and seeds. It makes the rebirth possible every time again and again. But what if the rebirth does not happen? The menacing image of global warming, melting of the arctic glaciers, over exploitation of natural resources, genetic manipulation of crop and plants, feeding the mankind at the expense of the environment, the growing pollution of industry and the forcing climate change are things that I think about in my everyday life. Somehow I feel the need to photograph and visualize by my photography works or by installations, that this, our life as we know it now, is not going to last.
I was invited to Kuusamo international Nature Photo Festival to have the main exhibition of the event. Even though I don´t see myself as a nature photographer, I thought it would be interesting to exhibit my works in the North-East of Finland. I wanted to see how people, who are surrounded by almost the deepest and most impressive nature and landscape in the eastern Finland will see my images of allotments, plants, and seeds, telling about life and death. Is it nature enough for them?”
The artist and the exhibition is supported by:
The Finnish Cultural Foundation and Espoo City
(Click the images for right and larger size)
