PHOTOGRAPHS – Jyrki Portin

The PHOTOGRAPHS exhibition is one of my personal attempts to understand and grasp life.

The subject of the Finnish forest and its essence is something I have contemplated since I was a small boy. To me, the forest represents not only a physical experience but also a state of being, a place where one can be present.

Over time, I have noticed that my photographs have increasingly depicted more everyday subjects and remarkable situations. Sometimes, I may even construct the entire subject I am capturing myself. For example, it might arise from an arrangement of a found dead forest creature and seashells discovered on the shore of a dried-up lake.

I have strived to ensure that the viewer can relate to the moment in the images through their own experiences. A time when real forests were still left. Sometimes it feels as if the forest remains only within us – the forest in us.

From the perspective of a photographer, it feels somewhat fateful that clear-cut areas also provide enough visual challenge.

I have captured my landscapes with large format cameras using sheet film. Working with them is exactly as calm as I want the act of photographing to be. I have applied the same thought process in the exhibition’s black-and-white prints, which were made on fiber-based paper and toned. I enjoy such slow processes. Some of the works are made as contact prints. Direct photography is something that fascinates me. However, I don’t consider myself a documentarian. I photograph only places and things that feel important to me.

This text was created with AI assistance