Japan and Finland share many similarities. Both face rural depopulation, environmental changes, and the disappearance of local cultures. Exhibition by two photographers explores traditional lifestyles and captures the beauty of time’s passage.
Photographer Naoko Chiba and visual artist Antti Ylönen are collaborating on a photography exhibition for 2026. The exhibition will tour the municipalities along the Iijoki River next spring and will finally be shown at Galleria Laterna Magica in Helsinki in August and September.
The Borderlands photo exhibition showcases the countryside, nature and living environments of Japan and Finland. The exhibition also examines the history and memories of the depopulating countryside as well as the solastalgia felt by locals over the disappearance of old culture.
Chiba and Ylönen met ten years ago during an art project in Fukushima, Japan. Their collaboration has continued with joint exhibitions in Oulu in 2018 and Tokyo in 2023. Chiba photographs old stories she has heard from her family and rural residents, while Ylönen observes the beauty of decay in the built environment.
Naoko Chiba was born in Iwate Prefecture in the Tōhoku region in 1972. She studied fine arts and art education at Iwate University and the Gunma Institute of Contemporary Art. The “My Father’s House” project, which began in 1998, has become her life-long labour of love, in which she explores the depopulated countryside of Iwate, its history, and its culture.
The exhibition also showcases the works of visual artist Antti Ylönen, born in 1957 in Juva and currently residing in Ii. His photos are a kind of photographic paintings or, as he defines them, ‘urban nature photographs’. The photographs taken in remote areas seem to be associated with decay and oblivion, and around the details emerge quiet areas whose stories tell more about the past than the future.
Borderlands is part of the Oulu2026 cultural programme and explores cultural climate change. The exhibition tour is organised in collaboration with several partners, including Kuusamotalo Gallery, Päätalo Institute in Taivalkoski, Pudasjärvi Art Chamber, KulttuuriKauppila Art Center, and Gallery Laterna Magica. Additionally, the project is supported by EU-Japan Fest in Japan.
