A folk shaped by water at display at Nature Centre Siida’s new exhibition

Petri Nevalainen has been photographing all his life. He comes from the region of Pirkanmaa, and he has had exhibitions both in cities in the south of Finland and abroad. "A Folk Shaped by Water” exhibition has never been displayed before, but the choice of the exhibition venue was clear for the photographer all along.

- “A Folk Shaped by Water” can really only start in Inari and Siida, Nevalainen says. He has worked on the exhibition for several years: he has looked for material on Lake Inari in summer and done the photographing in his studio. As a photographer, he is motivated among other things by the goal of producing good photographs that have a deeper aspect.

- I feel that a photo is a good one when it is intensive, Petri Nevalainen says. In the exhibition room, the audience will see intensive black-and-white photographs, some of which are bigger than a square metre.

From the very beginning, Petri Nevalainen has aimed at taking a stand through his exhibition.

- In our society, Nature is only considered as a storehouse of resources, and I wanted to bring forth my point of view, Nevalainen says. This is definitely an exhibition that takes a stand for Nature.

Nevalainen adds that, with his exhibition, he would like to have people wake up and have a moment of reflection.

­People forget so easily all the things that there are in Nature. If we had time to stop for a while, we could see the world in a different way, Petri Nevalainen says.

Reflection does not demand very much in the beginning: one can, for example, start with the small and secure step of having a look at the exhibition. Looking at the figures, one can get new ideas and become interested in observing one’s own environment in a new way. The exhibition “A Folk Shaped by Water” is available for the public at the Northern Lapland Nature Centre Siida from 1 May to late September.

More information: Northern Sámi Nature Centre, siida(a)metsa.fi, 0205 64 7740