Karoliina Paatos' exhibition Heroes & Cowboy Girls is about challenging stereotypes of cowboy culture, the search for identity, the importance of family and community, and the tension between tradition and modern lifestyles. Paatos highlights aspects of cowboy culture that are usually marginalised. Paatos has been working on the exhibition projects since 2011.
Cowboy Girls focuses on the growth, independence and rural lifestyle of two sisters on a remote ranch in Nevada. Paatos highlights the roles and experiences of women and children in a traditionally masculine environment. Family and community can provide security and continuity, but also set expectations and boundaries that affect an individual's ability to find their own way in a changing world.
Heroes explores gay rodeo, challenging traditional notions of gender and sexuality in cowboy culture. Karoliina Paatos has shot in gay rodeos in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. Gay rodeos combine drag culture and sport in a communal space where everyone is welcome to participate, regardless of gender or sexual identity. The rodeo is seen not so much as a sporting event but as a community that has emerged as a force against discrimination and has become a chosen family for many.
Karoliina Paatos is a photographic artist and photojournalist based in Finland and the United States. She lives in Rovaniemi, Finland. Paatos graduated as a photographer from the Lahti Institute of Design in 2006 and received her Master's degree in Photography from Aalto University in 2017, where she also completed a minor in documentary film. In 2018, Paatos graduated with a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from the University of Arizona. Paatos is currently working on a PhD thesis at the University of Lapland on On Longing: Representations of Longing in Art Photography.
The Finnish Museum of Photography
1st floor
The Cable Factory, Kaapeliaukio 3, Helsinki
