Untitled (from the series PEMOHT) 1989-1995 / 2013 © Esko Männikkö / Pekka Turunen
Galerie Nordenhake GmbH Zimmerstrasse 88-91 DE-10117 Berlin Allemagne
Galerie Nordenhake is pleased to present PEMOHT, an exhibition by Finnish photographers Esko Männikkö and Pekka Turunen. The title takes its' name from a photographic essay realised by the two artists in conjunction over a seven year period between 1989 and 1995. Previously only exhibited in Scandinavia and Russia, this will be the first time this significant series is reassembled and can be seen in its' almost integrality since shortly after its' completion. This will also be the first time both artists will be shown together in a gallery context.
The title PEMOHT refers to the Cyrillic script for the Russian word Remont – a term which can be translated as Reparation and stands as the euphemistic and tragic symbol for the collapse of a country and the subsequent failure of its' institutions, devices and social structures. Within the immediate wake of the Soviet Union's dissolution the two photographers travelled to the Kola Peninsula, a remote area on the border of northern Finland. At the beginning of the Soviet period the peninsula was heavily industrialised and militarised, largely due to its strategic position and the discovery of the vast nickel and heavy metal deposits in the 1920s. As a result, the ecology of the area suffered major ecological damage, including contamination by military nuclear waste and nickel smelting.
Untitled (from the series PEMOHT) 1989-1995 / 2013 © Esko Männikkö / Pekka Turunen
Set against the bleak backdrop of this violated area, Männikkö and Turunen’s colour photographs set out to document the everyday reality of a disenfranchised community living on the margins during times of major transition. A haunting document of post-Soviet living conditions, PEMOHT captures this new reality with poetry, clarity, and grit.
Untitled (from the series 'Pemoht') 1989-1995 / 2013 © Esko Männikkö / Pekka Turunen
Esko Männikkö was born in 1959 in Pudasjärvi in the northern part of Finland. He lives and works in Oulu. In 2014 he will have a survey exhibition at the Kunsthalle Helsinki. He was awarded the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Prize in 2008 and has been showing at Galerie Nordenhake since 1995. Solo exhibitions include Millesgården, Lidingö, Kulturens hus, Luleå, Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall, Arendal (all 2009), Finsk-Norsk Kulturinstitutt, Oslo (2004), the Hasselblad Center, Gothenburg (1999), the Malmö Konsthall (1997), as well as Portikus, Frankfurt/Main (1996) amongst others. He has also taken part in numerous group exhibitions such as “Investigations of a Dog” at Magasin 3 and Deste Foundation (2010), as well as the Venice Biennial (2005), Liverpool Biennial (2004), “Contemporary Photography II: Anti-Memory,” Yokohama Museum of Art (2000), São Paulo Biennial (1998) and Johannesburg Biennial (1997).
Pekka Turunen was born in 1958 and currently lives and works in Kimitoön, Finland. His photographs have been shown widely in Scandinavia and abroad. Recent solo exhibitions include Villa Lande, Kemiö, Söderlångvik Museum, Dragsfjärd (2004), Finnland-Institut, Berlin (2003), Musée de Normandie, Caen (2002) as well as Kunsthaus Boskamp, Hochenlockstedt (2001) and Museum of Photography, Heslinki (1999). He took part in the 11th Sydney Biennale in 1999 and has participated in numerous group exhibitions including “Finlandia 200”, Helsinki Art Museum (2009), “Finlandia”, De Hallen, Haarlem, “Soucasná finská fotografie”, Prague House of Photography (both 2006) and “New Realities, Finsk samtida fotografi”, Hasselblad Center, Gothenburg (2003).
Untitled (from the series 'Pemoht') 1989-1995 / 2013 © Esko Männikkö / Pekka Turunen