My Finnish Routes
A photographic response to Konttinen’s return to Finland in 1992, after 23 years in Britain. It is linked to Amber’s documentary feature, Letters to Katja.
Having always photographed people in Britain, she was surprised to find that it was nature, rather than human nature that captivated and inspired her to photograph in Finland. Like most Finns, Sirkka had taken her country’s hundred thousand lakes and seemingly endless forests for granted, only to find on her return that both were under threat. In 1977 this selection of images became part of the Puiden Kansa book/exhibition project in Finland. The series was titled ‘Juuret ja Siivet’ and was printed by Sirkka for the exhibition by the Polymer Gravure printing technique.
All images © Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen
