Dialogue: Elina Brotherus and Hannele Rantala

The body of works on show continues the dialogue between the artists, which was first presented in the form of an exhibition at the Photographic Gallery Hippolyte in 2009. The exhibition features approximately 190 new prints, as well as installations. Together with the artists, the exhibition is curated by the director of the Ateneum Art Museum, Marja Sakari, and the chief curator, Sointu Fritze.

Along with the works by Brotherus and Rantala, a number of forgotten woman photographers are highlighted. Brotherus and Rantala chose inspirational images from the archives of the Finnish Museum of Photography and the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland to engage in dialogue with their departed colleagues. These photographers, who worked in the early 20th century, include Emmi Fock, Nancy Pietinen, Hilja Raviniemi, and Petra Tiirikkala, and, above all, the modern woman of Nordic poetry, Edith Södergran.

The exhibition is a natural pairing for The Modern Woman exhibition. The works contain a wealth of references to art history and literature, but they are also strongly linked to the personal and shared experiences of the artists. In the works of the artists, women act both as creators of images and as objects of the gaze.

In cooperation with: the Finnish Museum of Photography