Beautiful Finnish photography

MARKO VUOKOLA

Of the series, Vuokola writes: 'The Seventh Wave consists of pairs of images with precisely the same cropping and angle of view...Two seconds or six hours can pass between the moments of taking the pictures. In some of the pairs, the difference can be seen easily, while in others it is less obvious. Even the blink of an eye is time enough for many atoms to revolve, grasshoppers to leap and glimmers of light to change places.' (Artist statement, 2007)

NANNA HÄNNINEN

Of her series The New Landscapes, Hänninen states: 'The urban landscapes are basically drawings of my body movements that can be seen on photographic material as rhythmical light lines where subject and the scenery melt into a single image. Pictorial motifs divide into different surfaces -- the abstract and the actual. The human presence (breathing, heartbeat, laughter, talking, and walking during the exposure time) merge into the medium of photography, resulting in a process akin to painting. The subject is still strongly presented, whereas the object -- the scenery -- is estranged and thus becomes easier to deal with -- even safer than the actual place.' (Artist statement, 2007)

ILKKA HALSO

'My project Museum of Nature,' Halso says, 'is based on a pessimistic vision of what is happening on earth. I am looking into the future and I am not very happy about it. I am considering these pictures more as visual pamphlets than aesthetical images.' (Artist statement, 2004) Combining analogue and digital processes, Halso painstakingly constructs powerful fictional tableaux that question the state of our relationship with nature.

All of these works are for sale this week at Christies. I have not seen any of this work before, but it seems that Finnish photography is thriving, as the ethereal beauty of these images testifies.