ON THE STREET – Thirty Years of Street Photography, Erkki Salomaa

There is a sense of similarity in people, whether in familiar or unfamiliar surroundings, but at the same time, something always special. The everyday environment and daily events can expand from a singular moment into something more general, touching, and impactful. The exhibition ON THE STREET focuses on urban scenes, linking to the tradition of direct street photography. The photos are from various places around the world, often depicting everyday life in large cities. In each of the images, a person is encountered on the street, in their own environment.

A photograph can be a fleeting moment captured, but it can also have a deeper meaning, even revealing the fate of the individual. Why does one image touch us more deeply than another? To quote/interpret J. Berger: a photograph only captures the moment that has been seen, but its meaning grows from how much more it encompasses – time before and after. Or expressed through Roland Barthes’ terms: does the image have Punctum – a particular, striking effect, or a distinctive feature? These themes and reflections form the background of the exhibition. The significance of the images – whether experienced immediately or read more slowly – is something each viewer decides for themselves.

The exhibition is a retrospective, a culmination of 30 years of street photography. The works are silver gelatin prints made from traditional black-and-white film. A video piece, WAITING, created in the spirit of the exhibition, is also included, where it encounters people at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.

This text was created with AI assistance