The Helsinki School: The Nature of Being Volume 6, presented at Paris Photo 2019

The Helsinki School: The Nature of Being Volume 6, published by Hatje Cantz is now here and was presented for the first time at Paris Photo 2019! Alongside established Helsinki School artists, the book features some of Aalto's most recent Photography MA graduates including Jaakko Kahilaniemi, Ville Kumpulainen, Hilla Kurki and Rainer Paananen. The book is a testament to the sustained work and collaborative efforts of both Aalto University and Persons Projects in creating this unique platform for promoting fine art photography from Finland!

'The Nature of Being is the sixth volume from the series of books about the Helsinki School. It concentrates on bringing together the various approaches used by the School’s representatives to conceptualize nature visibly. The stated goal is not to limit oneself to purely physical depictions of animals, plants, and landscapes. Nature ought to be expressed through a di¤erent type of unit and with a new way of gauging time. Days, months, and seasons become the points of crystallization for time. Thus, the photographs reflect a Nordic sense about feelings of loneliness, jealousy, or desire. The works provide photographic insight into the complex horizon of emotions that characterize our individual views of nature. They do not portray landscape as such, but the world in which we live.

Since the 1990s the name HELSINKI SCHOOL has been used to describe a group of fine art photographers who studied, taught, or graduated from the Aalto University’s School of Art, Design and Architecture. The term unites a consistent conceptual approach.' (Hatje Cantz)