LONG-STANDING JAPANESE-FINNISH COLLABORATION SHOWCASES NORTHERN BORDERLANDS
The Borderlands photography exhibition, a joint project by photographer Naoko Chiba and visual artist Antti Ylönen, showcases the rural landscapes, nature, and living environments of Japan and Finland. The exhibition also explores the history and memories of depopulating rural areas, the passage of time, and the sense of loss associated with the disappearance of traditional culture. The opening celebration will take place at Laterna Magica’s Tiili and Kellari galleries on the Night of the Arts, Thursday, August 20, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
Chiba and Ylönen met ten years ago during an art project in Fukushima, Japan. Their collaboration has continued through joint exhibitions in Oulu (2018) and Tokyo (2023). Chiba photographs stories she has heard from her family and rural residents, while Ylönen observes the beauty of decay within the built environment.
Naoko Chiba was born in the Tōhoku region’s Iwate Prefecture and studied visual arts and art education at Iwate University and the Gunma Institute of Contemporary Art. The "My Father’s House" project, begun in 1998, has become her life’s work; through it, she explores the depopulating countryside of Iwate, as well as its history and culture.
The works by Ii-based visual artist Antti Ylönen are a form of photographic painting—or, as he defines them, "urban nature images." Ylönen’s photographs seem to evoke themes of disintegration and oblivion; around specific details, quiet zones emerge, telling stories that speak more of the past than of the future.
The Borderlands touring exhibition is part of the Oulu2026 cultural programme, marking Oulu’s tenure as the European Capital of Culture in 2026. In addition to the Oulu Culture Foundation, the project is supported by Japanese partners: Eu Japan Fest, the Pola Foundation, and the Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation.
Curator and art historian Heta Kaisto:
“I have found the artists’ long-standing collaboration and friendship deeply moving; such bonds are a hallmark of ecological and sustainable practice in contemporary environmental art. The *Rajamaat* photographic series explores the slow transformation of depopulating villages in both Finland and Japan. Both nations are grappling with aging populations and emptying rural areas, as well as a fraying sense of community that leaves individuals isolated. The ties binding people to their world and environment are shifting; the intergenerational transmission of homes, skills, worldviews, and emotional bonds is faltering, and connections to past generations are being severed. These themes lie at the heart of global projects exploring environmental trauma and the concept of solastalgia.”
