The photo exhibition “Rajamaat” will open at Galleria Laterna Magica during Helsinki’s Night of the Arts on August 20. The exhibition has previously toured the municipalities along the Iijoki River and is part of the official program for Oulu2026.
The works by photographer Naoko Chiba and visual artist Antti Ylönen showcase the history of a rural landscape in decline, memories, and solastalgia over the disappearance of an old culture. The exhibition opening will be celebrated in the presence of both artists at the Tiili- and Kellarigalleria of Galleria Laterna Magica during the Night of the Arts on Thursday, August 20, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Curator and art historian Heta Kaisto:
“I have been deeply moved by the artists’ long-standing collaboration and friendship, which is one of the hallmarks of ecological and sustainable art in contemporary environmental art. The photographic series “Rajamaat” explores the slow transformation of depopulating villages in Finland and Japan. Both nations are struggling with an ageing population and depopulating rural areas, as well as a weakening sense of community that drives people into loneliness. The bonds that anchor people to their world and environment are shifting as houses, skills, worldviews, and emotional ties—which are typically passed down from one generation to the next—fail to form, and connections to past generations are severed. These themes lie at the heart of projects worldwide that explore the concepts of environmental trauma and solastalgia.”
In addition to Galleria Laterna Magica, the exhibition tour has been organised in collaboration with the municipalities of Kuusamo, Taivalkoski, and Pudasjärvi, as well as Jalava Trading House and the KulttuuriKauppila Art Centre. In addition to the Oulu Cultural Foundation, the exhibition has been supported by the Japanese organisations Eu Japan Fest Japan Committee, Pola Art Foundation, and the Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation.
