“Fraying fabrics, sunken floors and distorted reflections. Worn and scratched surfaces that no one has had the strength, desire, ability or knowledge to do anything to. A human trace that is beginning to be covered by the traces of time.History cannot be erased; it provides us with starting point. No one starts life from scratch and everyone’s story is linked to the past, buildings, homes and courtyards, the work of hands. How can we find the right direction if we don’t know where we are coming from?

100 years is a short time in history. Only 5% of Finland’s buildings are over a hundred years old and yet our common architectural heritage and the art and crafts associated with it are being erased at an accelerating pace. Can we afford to be indifferent?

The exhibition Fragile Threads of Time consists of tannin-patinated cyanotype prints printed on watercolor paper. The documentary image is transformed into a painting-like version of reality through technology. The images were taken in empty building interiors and courtyards in my home region of Satakunta. They are details of the passage of time and forgetting. Reminders that we should remember. Memory is the thread that weaves our story between the past and the future.”

Sanna Pitkäniemi-Toroska is a visual artist, conservator-restorer and researcher of the cultural environment, for whom the preservation of the built environment, tangible history and the aesthetics of everyday life are of special importance.

Email: sanna.pitkaniemi@gmail.com

Instagram: @sahansanna