BIOGRAPHY

Laura Konttinen (b. 1987, Finland) uses photography not only as a medium, but also a material and a subject. Her works revolves around taking apart the photograph - revealing its thinness and fragility, but also celebrating its illusions and surrealism. 
 
Konttinen constructs her images by arranging photographs and random materials, such as mirrors, fake hair, golden thread or sugar, into miniature landscapes. Instead of digital aftereffects, she plays analogue tricks on the camera through surreal scenesetting and carefully considered compositions.
 
Contact: laura.konttinen (at) gmail.com

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

"There is a strange power in the cathartic ritual of physically cutting up a picture and rearranging the pieces into something new. In my works, I chart the hidden corners of my innermost landscapes. I explore the delicate traces of my past experiences, and collect fragments from stories, fabrications and pastel-coloured nostalgia. I then craft them into makeshift worlds, where reality and illusion are intertwined.
 
Through analog manipulation, faded feelings and places too distant to recall become tangible materials that can be controlled and transformed. In my constructed worlds, I look for ways to give meaning to memories that feel somehow shapeless or hollow. I mold them into surreal landscapes, where each element is saturated with carefully selected symbolism. After photographing the installations, I break them apart – and carry out the final, liberating step: letting go.
 
This process satisfies my compulsive yearning to preserve and archive the un-preservable: the vague, delicate pieces of life that really become visible only when they are already on the verge of disappearing."