Photographs from the series TILA

A flame must have emptiness around it in order to give light. Without space there is no light.

Joseph Joubert

In the Finnish language, the word tila is used loosely in defining locality, state or position. It can be translated into English as 'space', 'place', 'area', 'room' or 'state of mind', among other meanings. Though sometimes synonymous with spatiality, it has a more finite meaning in connections such as lounge space, storage space or shelf space - and before the Second World War the Germans spoke of Lebensraum - 'living space'. In Finnish, a farm is maatila, literally "land space", a delimited area for the practice of agriculture. Finland's air space is an undemarcated area which the Russians are allowed to violate with the blessing of our government. An individual's finances can be in a good state, pregnancy is known in Finnish as the 'blessed state', and there are many different states of mind and intoxication, all described with the word tila. When a bank manager from East Finland was indicted for fraud and he went on to shoot his wife and three daughters, the court noted that he had acted in 'a state of forced honour'. The bank manager was acquitted, but a new one was put in his place.

Pertti Kekarainen's ( born 1965) forthcoming exhibition features photographs from TILA, his most recent series of works. The variety of meanings and various dimensions of this word in the Finnish language inspired Pertti Kekarainen to plan and realize his latest works.

In formal terms, Pertti Kekarainen's works are characterized by the multi-interpretative nature of space. He combines his photographs with local elements of colour that sometimes appear to conform to the space presented in the piece and are sometimes contrary to it. These features create tension and a slightly surreal atmosphere. The light in the photographs is beautiful and specific to these works. Here, Joubert's statement could be revered: "Without light there is no space".

Works by Pertti Kekarainen will also be on show at "To be continued...", an exhibition of the Helsinki Photo Festival opening to the public at Kunsthalle Helsinki on 8 October.

Ilona Anhava

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Works from the series DENSITY

Kekarainen shrouds his photographs in strange veils, creating transition zones, or semi-transparent membranes, which he punctures with spy holes. Lurking somewhere behind the veil – or what appears to be the surface of the ‘painting’ – is reality itself, a disconcertingly ordinary and characterless place.

Sometimes when we daydream and stare hazily into the distance beyond the mundane objects within our immediate field of vision, it seems as though we suddenly grasp everything more lucidly and fully than ever before. Is this the moment that Kekarainen captures in his photographs?