Exhibition opening on Tuesday May 27th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Warm welcome!

Erkki Luoma-aho's (b. 1947) photography exhibition in the Tile and Cellar galleries tells us through photographs of rock paintings and drawings what life was like in Africa 6,000 – 10,000 years ago. The exhibition also offers the opportunity to take a peek back 3.5 million years through photography. The footprints found in Laetoli, Tanzania, are thought to have been left by early so called ape-men (Australopithecus afarensis). Many researchers consider them to be the predecessors of humans.

Luoma-aho describes his exhibition: "I have been interested in photography since 1970, when I bought my first SLR camera. AlthoughI do not have a degree in photography, I have acquired my knowledge and actively update it from literature and magazines in the field.

I joined the Finnish Nature Photographers in the 1990s. For me, it also means the light of nature! I joined the Estonian Ancient Art Society in 1991 and in July of that year I was already studying rock carvings on the eastern shore of Lake Onega. I was also involved in founding the Finnish Ancient Art Society in 1999. Getting to know rock art gave direction to my research. I completed my studies in archaeology, geology and geophysics.

Between the years1991 – 2007 I photographed mainly in the Nordic countries and in the east: Lake Äänine, Ural area, rivers Ob, Jenisei and Lena, baikal and all the way to Tuva and Altai.

In 2008, I signed up for a three-week desert adventure in Egypt. In addition to the red soil, I discovered the millions of colors of the Sahara in the rock paintings! You can admire them in this Africa exhibition, which features images from 9 countries: Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Ethiopia, Somaliland, Tanzania and Namibia.

There is one other fact that deserves attention: In Africa, rock paintings and drawings are alive, often depicting a cartoon-like story from thousands of years ago. “The Crying Cow” tells of the tragic fate of the Sahara: A herd of cows could not find water at a familiar watering place. The Sahara was drying up."

Above Erkki Luoma-aho: Petojen luolassa - In the cave of the Beasts (Egypt).

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