Exhibition opens with a reception on Tuesday Dec 2nd from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Warm welcome.

I had the chance to visit Gotland. During the trip, we took a ferry ride to the nearby island of Fårö for the afternoon. We drove around and looked around. I heard that Ingmar Bergman's house and studio operate as an artist residency on a foundation basis.

The foundation advertised that the residency was for those who liked the basic concepts of Bergman's art - death, anxiety and demons. I applied immediately, and I got there in October 2013. The selection criteria were not explained. Was it because I promised to make a systematic photographic documentation of the landscapes of Fårö, or because I said I spent my childhood on Bergmansgatan in Helsinki?

The curtain lifts

I carried out the documentation by applying my ‘Visual Landscape Monitoring’ photography method. I selected 55 vantage points from the map, from which I took pictures according to the cardinal directions and in a couple of directions I chose separately. Scene I of the exhibition presents a selection of the results of that rather extensive landscape documentation. It objectively tells what it is like on the island of Fårö.

My accommodation was by the sea, I photographed the Baltic Sea opening up to the east in front of me over the course of a month in different weather conditions and lighting. Those subjective views are revealed in Act II. There was still time for other things, such as exploring Bergman's library and film collection. In Bergman's own cinema, each resident guest was able to watch a private screening of the film they wanted. I chose Persona. Probably because I had already been able to watch and film rehearsals for the very same play Persona by a London theatre ensemble on site. I also found filming locations for the film in the area. I will show a few of these in Act III, on the gallery's Small Stage.

The curtain closes

During my visit, I read Bergman's biography 'Laterna Magica', in both Swedish and Finnish, side by side. It was a fitting way to learn the language. Since I held my first photography exhibition at Laterna Magica in January 1995, 'Fårö - Three Acts' is the perfect place to celebrate my 30th anniversary as an artist in this very same place.

I dedicate my exhibition to the memory of Aapo and Mikko Pekari.

About the photographer:

Tapio Heikkilä (born 1958) is a Helsinki-based photographer and non-fiction writer; biologist, Doctor of Arts.

As Environmental Advisor to the Ministry of the Environment, he was responsible for themes of landscape protection and management (1986–2023).

Doctoral thesis on landscape photography methods at the University of Art and Design (now Aalto University, 2007).

Dozens of photography exhibitions in Finland and abroad: the first ‘Kulttuuri maisemassa (Culture in the Landscape)’ at Laterna Magica (1/1995), later exhibited, among others, at the National Museum of Iceland. Several books of photography and other publications.,State Award for Public Information, two Nature Books of the Year.

Photo above Tapio Heikkilä: Esirippu / Ridå, 2013 (2025)

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