Dirty Job
When standing by a fresh coal seam, measures to tackle climate change seem very far away, but it is the workers that feel their impact first.
Dirty Job (2017–2022) is a documentary photography series depicting life in coal mines in the US and on Finnish peat bogs. It tells the story of people who work at the forefront of the green transition.
For a century, coal and peat have shaped lives in rural areas. For fossil fuels, people have moved mountains and drained boglands, risking the well-being of the environment and humans in the process. Communities have been built and families have been started on coal and peat.
Over the past couple of decades, the coal industry has gradually withered and not even a profound fossil fuel advocate President Trump could bring it back. Finland’s peat sector has experienced a similar fate in the last few years. Professions that used to be highly respected are now looked down on.
We view the time limits set for carbon neutrality from totally different perspectives. While for some they are a milestone that mark the achievement of sustainability, for those who are personally affected by these decisions, they are deadlines before which peatlands and machines must be made the most of.
As policies designed to stave off climate change are putting an end to the use of fossil fuels, communities are left to face an uncertain future. The old way of life is disappearing faster than a new one can emerge, and the transition is painful.
Exhibition open now at The Finnish Labour Museum Werstas 3.2.-6.8.2023
During the exhibition, the non-fiction book Likainen työ – ilmastopolitiikan voittajat ja häviäjät (Dirty Job – the winners and losers of climate policies) will be published. The book uses text and pictures to explore local problems from a global perspective. It takes the reader to peatlands, coal mines and a meeting room of a carbon offsetting company to see what the world looks like from the focal point of the green transition.
The Town of Ii
A photo story about the northen town of Finland - Ii. Shot during a 12hr photo marathon competition - Valto Pernu Photo Marathon
The Rare
In Finland, hundreds of thousands of people live with a rare disease. These deasiases their selves might not be leathal or even severe, it's the rareness that leaves the diseased and their close ones troubled and alone with their problems. Only a handfull of people in the entire country may carry a disease that has no known cure in the world. Every visit to a doctor is a rollercoaster where no knoledge is certain. Facing different diseases but the same issue, the rare find comfort in coming together and sharing the little knowledge out there.
Fight League Kids
More and more kids are fantasizing about becoming a pro fighter in the United States. MMA - Mixed Martial Arts - is by far the fastest growing sport among the youth. Kids as young as 4 are picking up ’kiddy classes’ taught by the professional MMA fighters. Although the sport is tough and looks violent, statistically MMA is safer than eg. soccer. Injuries are surprisingly rare. At the gyms communities are formed where kids all ages are mingling and families are looking out for each other. Strict discipline and respect is taught. Though contradictions are obvious, for some kids, the sport offers community and builds self confidence.
2013-2014 California & Arizona, U.S.A.
