Anna Karoliina | The Work
Statement
Life itself is as thin as ice. The beauty of life is tightly linked to the fragility of our existence and to the disappearing nature of things.
Ever since photography was invented, it has kept company with the past tense. If everything would last forever, why would we have the strong urge to take photographs? We have naturally got the tendency to capture things that are about to disappear, things that we know are only temporary experiences.
Photography is about freezing a certain moment at the right time. An image is a proof that something has existed - it is kind of a certificate of presence, a solid object that we can hold in our hands and look over and over again. When looking at photographs there is always this certain feeling of lost moments and sentimentality.
In my work I'm trying to emphasize the beholder's unique experience of an image and question the reproducible nature of the medium. I'm interested in manipulating my images by hand and adding different textures to them to make them appear almost statuesque. Symbolic, silent language is important when looking at my work - I'm intrigued in using subjects as physical metaphors.
By using narrative understanding of photography my intention is to capture the essence of vulnerability that shapes our lives. Every single image has got a story to tell, and the question is often more important than the answer. The story is incomplete, which makes the images open to interpretation.
In my most recent project, Saaret, I’m aiming to visualise a concept called loneliness.
Loneliness kills. Sad but true, in the worst case scenario it leads to depression and social isolation. It lives in empty little cabins, quiet walls, narrow forest paths and telephones that never ring.
I have been travelling around Finland since 2008, and photographing people and landscapes who, in one way or another, have got a deep connection to my subject matter: an elderly lady who never has any visitors and who has isolated herself in her small apartment in the suburbs of a small village, empty cabins in a island that once used to be full of life, laughter and busy summer days, a young girl whose lonely battle with an eating disorder has been going on for the past ten years, a farmer with his two daughters who are about to move away.
It is extremely easy to isolate in a country with such a small population in comparison to its size. The current mental health statistics are shocking, and the amount of depressed people is likely to double in the next twenty years due to the lack of trained staff in the health industry. It is not easy to get help. Even if one was succesfull in receiving help, problems are easily solved with a quick visit to the pharmacy counter.
There are people whose stories need to be told, and it's the photographer's duty to visualise the unspoken words – an image is like a window to another kind of a reality.
CV
Education
2011 Diploma in creative writing, University of Jyvaskyla
2010 Bachelor of Arts, University of the Arts London
2007 ABC Diploma in Foundation Studies in Art, Design and Communication
University of the Arts London
Group exhibitions
Sept 2011, Art against knives charity auction, Shoreditch, London
Sept 2011, Photomonth, Richmix Gallery, London
July 2011 Foto8 Summershow, The Host Gallery, London
March 2011 A mixed media exhibition, Candid Art Galleries, London
June 2010 The Graduation Show, Camberwell College of Art, London
March 2010 The interim show, Camberwell College of Art, London
May 2009 An exhibition of works of Art, Trinity Buoy Wharf, London
June 2008 Your Space of Mine?, The Nolias Gallery, London
June 2007 The End of Year Show, Camberwell College of Art, London
June 2006 Art Summer Show, Lappeenranta School of Art, Finland