Welcome to the exhibition opening and book launch on Tuesday November 15th from 5-7 PM.
"It’s winter in the city, and snow is falling. There’s snowlight. Everything is new. I’ve not photographed it like this before. The city seen through a snowfall. Without the city in the main role. Snowlight is the star. The city milieu only provides a backdrop for a new light experience.
I crisscross the city – as far as I can from my home in Katajanokka before the snowfall ends. I’ve lived here for almost 50 years. That’s why the snowfall scenes are located in the historical centre of Helsinki. There’s the Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral and the hilltop it stands on with views toward the old ships moored in the North Harbour. The Senate Square and the Market Square with their people seen through the falling snow. The sea horizon from the tip of Katajanokka headland, heralding a change in the weather.
I also photograph the old parks of the city: Sibelius Park, Töölönlahti Bay, Hesperia Park, the ancient trees of the seaside park in Munkkiniemi. I’m interested in old trees. Gnarly trunks bear witness to their age. They are survivors in the polluted air of the city.
During the last three or four winters, I’ve explored locations – in my studded boots, to be on the safe side. I’m starting to feel my age too. My arms and legs don’t function like they used to when I was photographing for Kaamos – Landscapes of Darkness in the 1980s. I feel cold easily, I walk slowly – but snowlight fascinates me."
Professor Antero Takala (b. 1939) is a photographic artist who lives and works in Helsinki, Finland. He has held numerous private exhibitions since 1966 around the world, showing landscapes, portraits and experimental photography. His theme exhibitions “Häkki” (1971) and “Romeo & Julia” (1974) combined modern dance and photography. Takala has also made two video artworks for television, based on photographs: “Romeo and Juliet” (1972) and “Piha” (1980). He is known for his landscape trilogy “Lapinmaisema” (1977), “Kaamos – hämärän maisemat” (1987) and “Mielen maisemia” (2003).
Takala has published two photographic books (Kaamos – Hämärän maisemat / Landscapes of Darkness, 2006, and Mindscape / Mielenmaisema, 2010) as well as a memoir (Maisemasta mielenmaisemaan – Elämäni kameran takana, 2016). Antero Takala has been awarded the Finnish State Prize for his work as a photographer in 1967 and 1973.
