Aki-Pekka Sinikoski: Endless Summer – Outdoor Exhibition in Ii // KulttuuriKauppila Art Centre in Ii
ENDLESS SUMMER - OUTDOOR EXHIBITION IN II 18.7–20.9.2015
”If I am being totally honest, this party is slowly drawing to a close for me. I am making my way towards that endless summer. One day at a time.”
I am
Aki-Pekka Sinikoski and
Endless Summer is my photography project presenting the Finnish post-war generation. The men of that generation who climb, as if honoring the memory of their fathers, to the burning hot tin roofs of their houses to fix fire escapes, with their newly installed hip prostheses creaking. The series of photographs paints a picture of the dearly beloved tough guys who can be found in almost everyone’s circle of acquaintances and whose everyday feats of valor spouses and children observe sometimes with great amusement and at other times with ultimate terror.
Endless Summer tells about identity, change, loneliness and in a broader sense about manliness and the essence of being a Finn. This series is a continuation of the photography series entitled Finnish Teens that I photographed in 2009-2011. Finnish Teens looked at Finnish teenagers by documenting the time racing by between childhood and adulthood and the sprouting identities that can be observed in teenagers exploring who they truly are as individuals. They are pictures of eager anticipation mixed with fear; the hope that one’s wings would become strong enough and one would rediscover oneself and one’s place in the world.
The world is changing at an accelerating speed and just like a teenager looking at oneself in the mirror, an old man may have difficulties in recognizing the face in the mirror as one’s own. Furthermore, just like the teenager, the old man hopes that his wings will support him and make him soar – for as long as possible.
The Endless Summer exhibition in Ii includes 33 pieces, a third of which have been created as a
community art project in the
KulttuuriKauppila Art Centre in Ii in the summer of 2015. The other 22 pictures have been taken all over Finland during the past three years. The exhibition is featured in a public space in the middle of the Ii village for two months. The exhibition prints have been implemented on fabrics with a special technique so that the prevailing light has a strong effect on what the photographs look like. This creates an impression that the pictures sometimes intensify and at other times weaken according to the direction and intensity of the light hitting them and the time of the day. Thanks to this I can guarantee that the exhibition changes constantly during its entire existence – just like people do.
Working with and for the people of Ii has been a wonderful and creatively fulfilling experience for me. In addition to the Endless Summer photography exhibition, working in Ii has also created a foundation for my next photography series dealing with Finnishness. This series will see the light of day in 2017, in the centenary of Finnish independence. At this point I can only guarantee that the series will illustrate not only the perseverance, hospitality and humor of the people of Ii but it will also entail pictures that have concretely been taken here.
In Ii on July 17, 2015
Aki-Pekka Sinikoski
Endless Summer - Outdoor exhibition in Ii 18.7–20.9.2015 was produced by Kulttuurikauppila
Making of this exhibition was possible with the help of:
Taiteen edistämiskeskus
Svenska kulturfonden
Patricia Seppälän Säätiö
Iin kunta
Valto Pernun Säätiö
And all of those friendly people and artists in Ii who helped me during the process.