Fotografiska 1st Birthday!

a year of world-class photography in Tallinn

Fotografiska Tallinn celebrates its 1 st birthday with the open-air exhibition in the centre city of Tallinn and nearby. With this, we look back to the past year. We bow down to the artists who have enriched us and our place with their artwork. Thanks to them, we can use the power of photography to unite, spread awareness and create a positive impact on society. By giving space to the stories behind the images, we open up for discussions on topics that can’t be ignored, regardless whether it’s beautiful, painful, surprising or uncomfortable.

Jimmy Nelson

Homage to Humanity

Among the first four opening exhibitions was British photographer Jimmy Nelson's Homage to Humanity. This immersive experience invited viewers on an extraordinary journey to the remotest and most beautiful places on earth. As a photographer, he travels across the entire globe, from the tundra of Siberia to the islands of the South Pacific, all his images have something in common. It is the photographer's relationship with these cultures. Nelson places these indigenous communities in a podium-like place. He wants to show the nobility in man, and so enhances this in his images.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 20th June - 8th September 2019

Jimmy Nelson's photo locations in the open-air exhibition: 1 and 15

Pentti Sammallahti

Distant Land

One of Finland's most recognised artists, Pentti Sammallahti's artwork, was also among the first four opening exhibitions in Fotografiska Tallinn. He's had a unique connection to Estonia. There was a portfolio of eight images taken in Tallinn in Estonia in the winter of 1981 when Sammallahti spent mere minutes photographing people walking past a wall on a busy street. He has developed a unique talent of observation, capturing seemingly ordinary scenes from everyday life, that in his lens are lifted to timeless compositions that remind of stills from a monochrome film, or grayscale landscape paintings.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 20th June - 25th August 2019

Pentti Sammallahti's photo locations in the open-air exhibition: 2 and 10

Vincent Peters

Light Within

Light Within by Vincent Peters was the last beautiful addition to Fotografiska's winter season exhibitions. Fashion and portrait photographers show exhibits pieces that focuses on the play of the light and shadows. The men and women captured by Vincent Peters often have two things in common. They are famous for reasons which make them familiar faces to most of us. And they act as a canvas on which we, as viewers, paint a picture which says more about us and modern times than it does about them.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 6th December - 16th February 2020

Vincent Peters' photo locations in the open-air exhibition: 3 and 17

Anna-Stina Treumund

Lilli, Reed, Frieda, Sabine, Eha, Malle, Alfred, Rein and Mari

Estonian photographer Anna-Stina Treumund’s (1982-2017) exhibition ”Lilli, Reed, Frieda, Sabine, Eha, Malle, Alfred, Rein ja Mari“ was part of the four opening exhibitions at Fotografiska Tallinn. It told the stories of Estonian women, their history, and the impact their choices had on the contemporary society. Treumund started to work on the series when she realized that the history of lesbian, feminist, and non-normative women in Estonia was hidden or at least untold. Anna-Stina Treumund was a unique, pioneering artist both in Estonia and in an international context. “My private life, my activism and my art are all means of communication and they all speak a queer-feminist language,” Treumund previously said about herself.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 20th June - 15th September 2019

Anna-Stina Treumund's photo location in the open-air exhibition: 4

Kirsty Mitchell

Wonderland

In September, we opened the doors to Kirsty Mitchell’s fairy tale world in this fascinating exhibition Wonderland – a dream world to be enchanted and embraced by while it was getting darker outside. The magical creations and woodland sets of Wonderland both moved and fascinated. Mitchell embarked on the intensive 5-year project in the summer of 2009, a few months after her mother had tragically died of cancer in 2008. It became her escape from a painful reality as she sought her way back to the fairy tale world they shared throughout her childhood.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 13th September - 24th November 2019

Kirsty Mitchell's photo locations in the open-air exhibition: 5, 13 and 16

Mandy Barker

Sea of Artifacts

Fotografiska Tallinn’s opening winter exhibition, Mandy Barker’s Sea of Artifacts worried about the environment and brought attention to excessive plastic, destroying nature around us. British artist, Mandy Barker’s photographs, portray objects that she found when out collecting plastics in various locations around the world and then used to create her works. Her role is to be an interpreter, to be aware of the facts about the harmful effects of marine plastics, to understand the points and to present them in an accessible way.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 14th November 2019 - 9th February 2020

Mandy Barker's photo location in the open-air exhibition: 6

Anja Niemi

In Character

Among the first four opening exhibitions was Norwegian photographer In Character by Anja Niemi that posed challenging questions, about the nature of the self, wanting to be another, and about conformity. Anja Niemi is a creator of elaborate fictions. At once artist and subject, she reimagines the genre of self-portraiture through photographic tableaux-vivants. The seductive beauty of her pastel colour palette, lavish interiors, and immaculately coiffed, hyper-feminine characters, invites the viewer to judge by appearance.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 20th June - 15th September 2019

Anja Niemi's photo locations in the open-air exhibition: 7 and 14

Alison Jackson

Truth is Dead

Last autumn, we welcomed Alison Jackson's witty exhibition that gained a lot of attention in our city environment, especially after the city banned advertisements. Alison Jackson is a contemporary artist who with her realistic photographs pushes the boundaries of what we experience – what is genuine and what is fantasy? "The truth is dead. Nothing that we're shown can be trusted, everything can be faked and nothing is authentic,” Jackson described the point of the exhibition.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 30th August - 10th November 2019

Alison Jackson's photo locations in the open-air exhibition: 8 and 9

Alison Jackson

Truth is Dead

Alison Jackson works like a researcher – or an investigative detective. Always with a passion to find the perfect angle, the perfect casting and the perfect mask; the exact positioning of the specific props, which are featured prominently to tell the full story. Doppelgängers simulate private, sometimes intimate and exposed, situations. With these staged photographs, Jackson explores the impact that the depicted celebrities have on our experiences and raises questions about celebrity culture and the public desire for gossip.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 30th August - 10th November 2019

Alison Jackson's photo locations in the open-air exhibition: 8 and 9

Pentti Sammallahti

Distant Land

Distant Land is a fascinating journey to the mysterious land that is both presents at the moment and existing in our imagination. For over 50 years Sammallahti has captured the mysteries of nature, in all of its forms across the world, in exquisite imagery in which nature and artifice, reality and fantasy, become indisputably intertwined. The photographer himself has said that he feels like he is receiving the photos not taking: "If you're in the right place at the right time, then all you have to do is push a button."

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 20th June - 25th August 2019

Pentti Sammallahti's photo locations in the open-air exhibition: 2 and 10

Kirsty Mitchell

Wonderland

The exhibition included over 70 images. Every one of them proved the incredible attention to detail, and how Mitchell plans and prepares her photos by designing the most spectacular costumes and props, some of which take months to complete. Each piece is a tribute to her mother, forged from the daughter’s faded child-hood memories of the books they once shared, mixed with the sadness of her adult grief and her newfound spiritual connection with nature.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 13th September - 24th November 2019

Kirsty Mitchell's photo locations in the open-air exhibition: 5, 11 and 16

Yang Fudong

Moving Mountains

Fotografiska Tallinn’s last autumn exhibition introduced Chinese mythology in a contemporary interpretation. The focal point of the exhibition by Chinese artist and director Yang Fudong was a black and white film combined with sketches and photographs prepared for the film set-up. There are three parallel themes displayed in the film: the relationship between man and nature, disappearing traditions and the thinning connection between generations, and the isolation and lonesomeness of people in an unstable world.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 20th September - 1st December 2019

Yang Fudong's photo location in the open-air exhibition: 12

James Nachtwey

Memoria

The exhibition was a recollection of Nachtwey's decades' long life work - reportages from epicentres of crises and places torn by wars. As a photographer, he is gifted with the ability to capture striking compositions, acting as an observer of the world in which we live often endangering his own life, but always with the greatest respect for the most vulnerable – the civilian casualties. Within large-scale historical events of global impact, he documents intimate moments of humanity. His photographs can appear to have formal completeness, but they are spontaneous, intuitive, and often composed in a fraction of a second.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 29th November 2019 - 1st March 2020

James Nachtwey's photo location in the open-air exhibition: 13

Anja Niemi

In Character

Niemi's work is built up like motion picture episodes. Always working alone, the artist stages scenes using different roles and characters and ensures her characters possess a sense of infinite solitude. Within Niemi’s meticulously-chosen interiors, astonishing transformations take place. Even when in conflict with a doubled self, the face betrays no trace of emotion.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 20th June - 15th September 2019

Anja Niemi's photo locations in the open-air exhibition: 7 and 14

Jimmy Nelson

Homage to Humanity

Jimmy Nelson is as much a director and scenographer as he is a photographer. In his images, he works with attention to detail, setting the stage with meticulous care. It is all about perfection - a measured balance of shapes, colours, and, most of all, light. Natural light, the only kind he uses, demands a lot of time. It means that he can be working on one image for several hours, or days, before he reaches what he's after – the magic, enchanting atmosphere that the right light brings.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 20th June - 8th September 2019

Jimmy Nelson's photo locations in the open-air exhibition: 1 and 15

Kirsty Mitchell

Wonderland

Together with a small team of models, a makeup artist and her husband, out in the woods she then builds stunningly beautiful sets for each photograph. Each filled with drama and characters that capture the imagination evoking a strong sense of recognition, despite being entirely new creations from her mind.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 13th September - 24th November 2019

Kirsty Mitchell's photo locations in the open-air exhibition: 5, 11 and 16

Vincent Peters

Light Within

Vincent Peters greets the world with an open heart and an equally open mind. Through the objective, he creates dreamy worlds and stages movie-like moments. Besides the model, there aren't any excessive details so that the photo could accentuate the beauty of the person who's photographed. It's no coincidence that the photographer prefers classic black and white photography - it emphasizes the contrasts and carefully balanced composition: the subconscious and conscious are interweaved.

The exhibition was in Fotografiska 6th December - 16th February 2020

Vincent Peters' photo locations in the open-air exhibition: 3 and 17

Cart

Fotografiska 1st Birthday!

a year of world-class photography in Tallinn

Jimmy Nelson

Pentti Sammallahti

Vincent Peters

Anna-Stina Treumund

Kirsty Mitchell

Mandy Barker

Anja Niemi

Alison Jackson

Alison Jackson

Pentti Sammallahti

Kirsty Mitchell

Yang Fudong

James Nachtwey

Anja Niemi

Jimmy Nelson

Kirsty Mitchell

Vincent Peters

Another 365 photos are waiting for you in Fotografiska

Liitu siinsamas Fotografiska uudiskirjaga ja ole maja sündmustega kursis! Jälgi meid ka Facebookis ja Instagramis

Liitu meie uudiskirjaga!