Tapio Säävälä's exhibition Old Gentlemen European, which will be held in the Book Gallery space of Laterna Magica, is a collection of black and white photographs from the 1980s of old gentlemen in cities in different countries just passing the time, doing their business, and hurrying to or from somewhere.
Exhibition opening on Tue February 17th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The old gentlemen were photographed in the 1980s in Poland, Hungary, Greece, Switzerland, Austria and Ireland, as part of a larger series of images of people and street scenes from that time. The gentlemen in the pictures were met on the streets of different countries and cities when we were traveling with my girlfriend by motorbike, train or bicycle. I always had a camera around my neck, another one in reserve and a backpack full of film. These guys ended up in my pictures because they were interesting local characters in their own circles. Some made a living from small businesses on the street and some seemed to be in a hurry - to somewhere or away from something. Some of them seemed to be alone or lonely, others were clearly enjoying their lives.
I took the photos hand-held or leaning on random supports. I developed the films and printed the photos in the laboratory of the Jyväskylä University Camera Society in the 1980s. Since then, the negatives were forgotten in the archives for decades. Recently, I found them again and became excited about printing, scanning and printing them. It's good that they were still there! The black and white photos of my travels were taken with an Asahi Pentax cine film camera, the other camera I had with me was reserved for slide film. Over the years, the black and white negatives have preserved their condition better than the slides, which made it possible to bring these gentlemen back to life.
I started photography in the 1970s, inspired by my high school in Oulu and largely self-taught. While studying in Jyväskylä, I immediately joined the university's camera club, where I gained a lot of new knowledge and experience. Photography became one of the main motives of my European trips in the 80s. On these trips, I focused mainly on people in their own environment - especially on the streets. Some of those photos were exhibited in the exhibitions of the Jyväskylä Photography Club and latern again in a group exhibition at the Helsinki Camera Society. The training and opportunities for printing and printing at the Helsinki Camera Society have given my photography hobby a new boost, and this encouraged me to put together this exhibition as well.
Above Tapio Säävälä: Vielä yksi diili tänään/One More Deal Today, Greece, 1986
