In English
Tero Leponiemi
I am Tero Leponiemi, teacher of visual culture, photo documentarist and photographer. I have worked in the field of visual culture since 1996. Art schools, studios and advertisement agencies have introduced me to the various sides of a picture and how to use it.
My interest towards the diversified phenomena of human life took me to the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, where I completed the Master’s degree in Ethnology and Folkloristics. My wife has given me a second home country and language, always changing and on the move – Estonia.
Recently, I have worked more and more with how to read a photograph and photography documentarism. I also find the relationship between a photograph and marginal groups, like problem youth or immigrants, very fascinating. Taking a photo or posing for one is an often neglected factor for one’s self-construction and building a view of the world.
A photography document is not just capturing a moment or an event. It also tells a story and speaks out. I do not find nor think that it should be free of values. A photograph is always defined by the personality, the values and premises of its author. In my own action I want to focus on photography driven by social change and photo documentarism.
Do we always know what the photo tells us about? The answer is not there by default. In 2007, I wanted to record an ordinary day of the inhabitants of a retirement home in Estonia. During the process, my initial idea, quite simple in itself, transformed into a deeper narrative of getting old, old age, loneliness, the little joys of life and people’s lives in the disruptions of the society. That hot summer day in a small countryside nursing home gave birth to the exhibition “Old age – coming alone?”. The exhibition has been displayed, among other places, in the Estonian National Museum.
I hope you enjoy my work. Feel free to comment or ask anything. Thank you,
Tero Leponiemi
e-mail: tero@narro.fi
mob: +358 40 194 5544
Lumikintie 3 A 9
FI-00820 Helsinki
FINLAND
