The Finnish Museum of Photography houses a substantial collection, one that can sometimes surprize even the museum’s own staff with its variety. If we include every individual negative frame, then the number of photographs totals more than three million.
The exhibition brings a number of very different photographs together in a single space. Among them are works of photographic art, photojournalism, fashion shots, press photos and portraits, by both professionals and amateurs. The oldest are from the 1860s, and the most recent from 2006. This jubilant encounter between photographs of different ages and sizes gives an intimation of the many different meanings that the photograph has had at different times.
The exhibition had its beginnings in the Kokoelmanosto (Picks from the Collection) series on the Museum’s website, which presents photographs from the collection in both pictures and words. But online digital images do not capture the material quality of the photographs, and that is why we now want to put some of these pictures on display to the public as authentic objects.
Images and stories from the collections (in Finnish): http://www.valokuvataiteenmuseo.fi/kokoelmat/kokoelmanosto
Exhibition photographers: Fritz Englund, Maija Holma, Nanna Hänninen, Markus Jokela, Ben Kaila, Kalle Kultala, Jouko Leskelä, K-G Roos, Martin Parr, Marja Pirilä, Sakari Pälsi, Merja Salo, Vilho Setälä, Hanna Weselius sekä Petteri Bülow, Juha Saari and Touko Yrttimaa.
The exhibition is also accompanied by the Päin pläsiä (In Your Face) booklet, which presents selected components of the Museum’s collections.
The Finnish Museum of Photography
Process Space, 1st floor
The Cable Factory, Kaapeliaukio 3, Helsinki
