Being / OLIO

I was sitting on a buss, watching the scenery go by, when suddenly a strange building flashed before my eyes. The next time I passed the same place, I was ready to take a better look at the object. The bubble-shaped building was still there but somehow altered. I gradually got into the habit of seeing how the "bubble" was doing. It really has a life of its own. I began to see meanings in the changing light and surfaces. One day it lay flat on the ground. This made me extremely aware of the limits of our time. Also, about the necessity of photographing something when it still is because the next moment it might be gone. It has been interesting, even amusing to follow how the thing takes different appearances.



It is now over ten years since our first encounter. The sheer visual pleasure and strange symbolism of the object eventually led me to pull my car over and start shooting pictures of it. The snow was particularly intriguing; the changes take place in seconds. The light itself is stunning, and the constant state of change around us is fascinating. The working process itself raises even questions about our ways of seeing. When we are looking at something, do we really see -or is it just a small part of reality we can adapt at a time. Photography makes all these changes visible - our visual memory is limited.

The series is done between years 1999-2007, including so far two videoworks.

OLIO / Being photography book will be published in spring 2008.
Text: Harri Laakso, "just one image".
Graphic design: Erkki Tuomi.

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