The Wonderland of East, 2020-
There is a thin line between being seen and being looked at. Immigrants know this too well. The struggle of inclusion and integration is oftentimes put on the sole shoulders of the immigrant and leaves for an isolating experience. While the isolation is felt emotionally by individuals,
it generates collectives of segregated people. The small communities that thrive parallel to the culture that is supposed to receive them are a gift, but they also symbolize a greater problem within the Finnish commitment and policies to accept difference.
The series is photographed in the Puhos shopping centre, in eastern Helsinki. However, the area is undergoing development plans, and the unique multicultural environment is under severe threat to be dispersed by gentrification, which is not likely to ease the integration and inclusion into the society.
The project is a work in progress.