Tengo que admitir que una vez soñé con ser fotógrafa de editoriales: Viajar en primera clase, fotografiar a gente interesante y carismática y dormir en hoteles de 5 estrellas. Sin embargo, la realidad es más bien otra. Cualquier día te encuentras en el primer autobús de la tarde dirigiéndote a algún lugar inhóspito para fotografiar a alguien que vive unas calles más abajo. Pero ahí es donde realmente descubrimos a los fotógrafo brillantes. La capacidad de encontrar la esencia de cada momento y capturarla sea dónde sea.
Jussi Puikkonen, es uno de ellos. El joven fotógrafo finlandés, ahora basado en Ámsterdam, es capaz de mostrar la identidad y el alma de la persona o el lugar que fotografía. Además del estado de la melancolía y tranquilidad que caracteriza a los finlandeses, Jussi es capaz de conectar con las personas y el entorno para sacar su lado más natural. Todo ello lo podemos ver reflejado en sus imágenes. Sus fotografías no nos gustan sólo por la cercanía que nos transmiten, sino también por la creación de un estilo propio de alguien que ha nacido en la Finlandia y que ha sido influenciado por su contexto visual.
Jussi ha fotografíado a gente dinámica, creativa, talentosa y extraña del panorama contemporáneo actual. Desde el diseñador de moda Iris Van Herper hasta el cantante Sébastien Tellier. Además, nos gusta especialmente su primera publicación “On Vacation” en el 2008, pues supone un punto de partido en su carrera y nos muestra la magia de los lugares dónde veranean los finlandeses cuando están solitarios. Ahora su última y divertida obra “Sauna, from Finland”, nos adentra en el mundo de la sauna finlandesa, elemento muy arraigado a la cultura e identidad de este país nórdico y que Jussi quiere compartir con nosotros.
Jussi Puikkonen, tuvo la amabilidad de respondernos a algunas preguntas sobre su nuevo proyecto y nos explica a tx-lab [en inglés] la experiencia de fotografiar dentro de este espacio tan especial para los finlandeses. Esperemos que os guste:
One of your most recent works is “Sauna”. Which was the most difficult part in shooting in this kind of space?
Technically, there’s a lot of challenges with the moist and lack of light. But I like to show that in the images. Sauna is so often photographed when the sauna is not even on and with really artificial looking studio light. You instantly realize that that’s not how it is for real.
Is this a personal project or you did it because you wanted to show the other people in different countries how the Finnish people live?
It is a personal project. At some point I realized that I had had quite a few commissions to photograph sauna for foreign publications. It made me think that it is quite unique and beautiful thing. For us Fins it is such ordinary part life. I didn’t really think about it before lived Netherlands.
Could you explain us any anecdote that happened to you during the shooting?
I’ve photographed Timo Kaukonen for this project. He is a man who nearly killed himself in the sauna. He was competing against a Russian guy. The Russian guy died. Timo spent 6 months in an extended care. Burned 70% of his skin and his lungs. During our shoot, he had to wear a suit 24/7 that protected his skin from not collapsing. He told me that he would have given up earlier if the opponent would have not been a Russian. I guess some Finns take sauna pretty seriously.
A few days later I went to sauna with guys who had been in the same sauna where the Russian guy died. They had lasted 5 minutes. It took me probably 3 minutes before I had to leave.
In which way growing up in rural Finland has had an influence in your photographs?
I was raised in the countryside. Even though my parents’ place is just three quarters of an hour from Helsinki I consider that my roots are in the woods. Finns are pretty straight forward and honest people. I like to think that’s what my photography is also all about.
The light in Finland is very changeable and peculiar. Do you think that living in Finland have had an influence in the perception of the light for the photographers who come from there?
I think every Finnish photographer has had dealt with the frustration that there just isn’t any light. So you need to be able take the advantage little rays of light available.
Now you live in Amsterdam. How this change has influenced you to devolope your photography vision?
Finland is a small country. Many of the photographers are all around guys that have ten different fields of specialty. In the Netherlands the photography field is much more variable. So you really can and need to focus on your strong points.
In 2008, you were named the Magazine photographer of the year in Finland. This was a great step in your professional career?
No it wasn’t
Do you have any project in the near future?
I’m actually still working on the sauna project. It’s an ongoing project. There couple other personal projects under work about hotel art and carnival landscape.
Donde comprar “On Vacation”:
https://www.editionpatrickfrey.com/de/books/vacation-jussi-puikkonen
