Ella Kiviniemi & Linda Manner: Home / Utopia
![Linda Manner: from the project Home / Utopia, 2019](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8e4de288655334c13925b3e57659c9e6ddadca2a5114dde1eddc7029ecb8fa1c/Leidi_Solbackassa_8005071_lowrespieni.jpg)
![Ella Kiviniemi: from the project Home / Utopia, 2019](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ad7a56ad4f6826e689c00ba134ec3fc142456a6f83827f9ffe3ac9f2ea4eddeb/ellakiviniemi_A2A5025_lowrespieni.jpg)
![Ella Kiviniemi: from the project Home / Utopia, 2019](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bc1261cf395009098a03b649abffe6492763e6cbd0630bb778075c0ac0d27ed6/ellakiviniemi_A2A7911_lowrespieni.jpg)
![Linda Manner: from the project Home / Utopia, 2019](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ea017504f1fe7a9e45c4dacdab532e29ac70ba73044b70586d0e3a22e16ba1d2/Erja_8008482-lowrespieni.jpg)
![Linda Manner: from the project Home / Utopia, 2019](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fe9b14e6a9445b06ecdd5907a3982da032d04267cbf347545cb7761243387127/VillejaLeidi_8009466_lowrespieni.jpg)
The photojournalists Ella Kiviniemi (born 1991) and Linda Manner (born 1987) took photographs of people who share their homes with others. The images show a creative community in Espoo, a block of co-living flats in the centre of Helsinki, and a commune for families with children in Vantaa.
Finns usually live either with one other person or alone. The largest group is those who live alone: in 2017, more than one million Finns lived alone. Living alone seems natural and suits the liberalist view of a society that emphasises the uniqueness of the individual. Those who gravitate towards a community want to live close to nature, share their everyday lives with others, get help with childcare, or find friends in a new city. Challenging conventional lifestyles and living together may play a key role in a time of global crises.
Communal living is a practical example of a situation in which people learn to understand and relate to others’ perspectives. When traditional family and work communities crumble, the home can become a place that creates a valuable experience of “us”, or “our place”. The decision to live in a community relates to our everyday lives but it is a very important one. Practically everyone has a place to live, and where and how we live is also political.
The photography project was realised with support from the Patricia Seppälä Foundation.
︎ Website Ella Kiviniemi
︎ Website Linda Manner
HOME / UTOPIA
PVF 2019Stoa gallery