BROTHERS AND SISTERS – VESA AALTONEN

PRESS RELEASE

The largest mass evacuation of children in world history took place in Finland during the war years of 1939–44. A total of 70,000 children were sent as war children, mostly to Sweden, as refugees. Families were torn apart as only some children were forced—or allowed—to leave. Thousands of those sent never returned, forgetting their origins, language, and parents.

The story of the Koivisto family from Pihlava and Yyteri, Pori, is Vesa Aaltonen’s account of siblings who were denied the chance to grow up together. Four out of seven had to leave their home; three were sent to Sweden in 1941, while the youngest was placed in foster care in Pori. The eldest of those sent away (Lahja Aaltonen, née Koivisto) returned two years later, having become Swedish in culture and language. The younger siblings were later adopted by their foster parents in Falkenberg in 1946. The youngest child was adopted into a third home at the age of one and a half.

The exhibition consists of approximately 40 black-and-white and color photographs, including old album photos, letters, 1990s portraits, and panoramas. It sheds light on one family’s story over six decades, with images taken in both Pori and the west coast of Sweden.

Brothers and Sisters has previously been exhibited in Helsinki and Turku. The version now on display in Pori is once again unique.

Vesa Aaltonen is a 34-year-old photographer from Turku, originally from Pomarkku. He works as a part-time photography lecturer at the Department of Culture at Turku University of Applied Sciences.

Translated with ChatGPT