Helsinki, Under Construction is a photographic series (2023 – ongoing) focusing on the Merihaka, Sörnäinen, Nihti and Sompasaari areas and shorelines in Helsinki. They are undergoing rapid changes due to the construction of residential areas, buildings, bridges and roads.
The photographs contain many strains and themes as a starting point. Elements of documentation , architecture and personal interests intersect with the formal qualities of the photographs. The use of 35 mm photographic film through multiple exposures dominates the structures , geometry and composition of the images.
”Due to the unforeseen results of multiple exposures the method makes its own internal order. It bends into unexpected perspectives and at times loses details. It results in unexpected shapes and colors which twist the connection between the image and the photographed topic. A familiar scene, or the processes of construction may appear as repulsive, raw or uncanny. Or as a floating dreamscape in which cranes and excavators appears an insect-like creatures stopped in the middle of their activities.
My interest in history and the way it is shaped in the here and now is reflected in my artistic practice. The incompleteness and on-going changes of construction sites fascinate me. In my photographs the visible transitions also include factors such as the changes in the seasons and the weather. Some elements – such as redundant navigation markers for ships – disappear from the shorelines, and simultaneusly the views change by all the new structures which alter the cityscape”, Kaisu Koivisto tells about the process.