Suburban Photographs – JUHA ALLAN EKHOLM

A new exhibition of contemporary Finnish color photography opens on the first floor of Poriginal Gallery on Friday, May 29. Juha Allan Ekholm’s photographs, executed through the methods of new documentary photography, alternate between glimpses of everyday life in rental suburbs and the fringes of that daily life, while also exploring themes of loneliness and isolation. The large-scale color photographs lend dignity to the heroism of everyday existence, simultaneously building a collective memory of one manifestation of urbanization.

Suburbs were originally built as “homes for happy people”—for those who moved to cities in pursuit of work and prosperity, particularly in the 1970s. However, this idyll quickly changed, and rental suburbs emerged. These neighborhoods reflect many aspects of Finnish society, including its challenges and social phenomena. The photographs convey the subjective experience of a photographer who grew up in the suburbs, offering his perspective on the rental suburbs of his new hometown. At the same time, they evolve into universal narratives of everyday life. Ekholm, raised in the suburbs of the Helsinki metropolitan area, is part of a new generation of Finnish photographers for whom documentary photography is multifaceted and open to interpretation (HS/Marja-Terttu Kivirinta).

In recent years, the soulscape of suburban life has gained attention in the art world, particularly through artists who have grown up in these environments. The images exhibited at Poriginal serve as an interim review of a long-term project that has become a central theme in Ekholm’s work. This exhibition presents one of the most extensive overviews of his work to date.

Juha Allan Ekholm (b. 1965, Espoo) has been photographing life in Finnish rental suburbs as his main theme since 1994. His works have been featured in European group exhibitions since 1998, particularly in the contexts of new documentary photography and contemporary Finnish photography, as well as in solo exhibitions across Finland. His exhibition publication Keskipäivän haave (Daydreams at Noon) was released in 2001. Juha Allan Ekholm lives and works in Turku.

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