MARTTI JÄMSÄCan you hear the song of a thrush... 2.9.2023 – 24.9.2023

Photographic artist Martti Jämsä (b.1959) presents a series of black and white nature-themed photographs in his exhibition.

In the suite of three photos that open the exhibition, Martti Jämsä has photographed the same landscape in each image but approaching it as if by walking. The landscape approaches from one photo to the next. In another suite of two images, that conceptually intertwine the works in the exhibition, Jämsä has depicted wandering along a path, which continues from one photo to the next. Wandering is one of the main themes in the exhibition.

In the photos he took in Helsinki Central Park, Martti Jämsä wanted to depict the expansive area of Central Park, which stretches from the Olympic Stadium all the way to the Vantaanjoki river. The photos exploring the forests in Central Park in daylight are not at the edge of pristine nature but on the outskirts of an urban settlement, where you can nevertheless hear the song of a thrush.

In his series depicting summer nights in Helsinki, Martti Jämsä sought to capture the midnight atmosphere in his photos: the darkness of midnight, but also the early morning light. In these photos, too, you can hear birdsong. In the Kuoriutumattomat (Unhatched) series, Jämsä has photographed the bird egg collection, with the Latin names of the birds written on the egg shells, in Forssa Nature Museum. They remind us of a human presence in nature.

Martti Jämsä photographs portraits of landscapes not landscape photos. This is a matter of the photographer’s eye and his ability to use the camera’s features to capture the landscape in black and white, but so that it is recognisable and atmospheric. Jämsä chooses the angles of view. He depicts extensive panoramas or draws attention to details in nature. He observes light and shadows. Searching, finding, experiencing and trying to record it in a photograph.

In the exhibition, extensive suites of dozens of nature photos surround the viewer with a stream of images. Nature seems to be present. At the same time, the various series of images support each other and communicate among themselves. The thoughts of the viewer – the wanderer – flow like images before his or her eyes.

Rauli Heino

Meeting with the artist at Galleria Heino on Friday 22 September 2023 at 17-19

Photographic artist Martti Jämsä and writer Antti Nylén discuss the exhibitions themes, works and the creative processes behind them. Welcome!