What if a crow could take photographs? What kinds of photos would it take? What would the world look like through the eyes of a bird? The Festival of Political Photography 2021: Bird’s-Eye View reflects, through photography, on the capacity of humans to imagine the perspective of birds and to understand the world in an alternate way through that lens.

Organised for the fifth time, the festival deals with the ways in which the photograph brings to light the relationships between birds and humans as well as between humans and the rest of nature. For more than 180 years now, the camera has been an ally to the human eye as well as an outstanding mechanical aid.

Cameras have helped us to obtain information on nature, facilitated the classification of species and made it possible for us to see the world from an expansive bird’s-eye view. Camera optics mimics the structure of the human eye. It turns nature into an image.

The festival also deals with what cannot be seen. The accelerating disappearance of birds and other species from our midst is almost invisible. Biodiversity is not merely about an abundance or variety of species. Instead, it is above all about a network of interspecific interactions, evolved over millions of years, where every change impacts the greater whole and has unpredictable consequences. The role of humanity is also deeply entwined in that network. 

In addition to the exhibition, the festival theme is discussed on the festival website through a podcast series, video interviews, a discussion event as well as texts. The introductory text unpacking the theme of the festival is available on the festival website in Finnish, English, Swedish, Northern Saami, Russian, Arabic and Somali.

Info 2021:

Svenska
Davvisámi
Pусский
بالعربية
Soomaali

Photographers, artists and other creators  

Camille Auer, Marek Jancovic, Hiwa K, Demelza Kooij, Jorma Luhta, Kristo Muurimaa & Juho Kerola, Tuula Närhinen, Anne Roininen, Rorhof, Leena Saarinen, Francesca Todde and Under Threat Working Group.

exhibitions

The Finnish Museum of Photography:
Bird’s-Eye View 8.10.2021 – 6.1.2022
Open Tue–Sun 11–18, Wed 11–20
The Cable Factory, Tallberginkatu 1 G, Helsinki
valokuvataiteenmuseo.fi

Events

Meet the Artists at the museum:
8.10.2021 from 4pm to 5.30pm
The Cable Factory, Tallberginkatu 1 G, Helsinki

Come to follow the exposure of an entire tree with cyanotype technique (in Finnish):
9.11.2021 from 11am to 2pm
Uutela outdoor area Uutelan kota (Särkkäniemi 5, Helsinki)
More information about the event (Only in Finnish)

Cyanotype workshop (in Finnish):
9.11.2021 from 11am to 2pm
Uutela outdoor area, Uutelan kota (Särkkäniemi 5, Helsinki)
More information about the workshop (Only in Finnish)

Public talk about Nature photography (in Finnish):
Participants: Antti Haataja, Ritva Kovalainen, Anna-Kaisa Rastenberger and Juha Suonpää
1.12.2021 at 6 pm
The Cable Factory, Tallberginkatu 1 G, Helsinki
More information about the talk