Love Song

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Jyri Pitkänen’s exhibition Love Song at Photographic Gallery Hippolyte explores themes of love, death, and letting go. For ten years, Pitkänen photographed the lives of his paralysed father and his mother, who acted as his caregiver. The exhibition offers an intimate glimpse into the couple’s repetitive daily routine built on trust.

When Pitkänen’s father became paralysed, he became dependent, and Pitkänen’s mother became his caregiver. Photography was a natural way to process the grief and the transformed daily life of his parents. During his visits, Pitkänen began to carry a camera with him. The thought that this might be the last chance to capture his parents’ lives and make them visible guided his photography. Farewells took on new shades of meaning: what if we don’t see each other again? One more picture, and then another. Goodbye for now, see you soon.

In the images of the Love Song exhibition, the artist’s father appears fragile and reliant on others, yet Pitkänen remembers him as a curious and independent adventurer. While photographing, he contemplated how his nearly speechless father might have felt when his wife woke him, lifted him, took him to the bathroom, washed, dressed, and fed him, changed his diapers, exercised him, helped him rest, and managed his medication. Did he anticipate the routines repeating, or did he hope for something different?

Taking photographs prompted Pitkänen to reflect on the possibility of holding on to loved ones through images. At the same time, photography became integral to his process of letting go. Throughout the project, he frequently felt, much like his father, that he was being supported by others. In assuming a role of uncertainty and vulnerability, the artist also breaks down parts of himself.

Pitkänen’s father was able to live at home in the rural area of Eastern Savonia until nearly the end of his life due to his mother’s effort. However, in remote areas, carers often find themselves outside the support system, and the services provided by society are frequently difficult to access. The exhibition offers a personal perspective on care work in Finnish society, which often remains hidden.

Jyri Pitkänen

Jyri Pitkänen (b. 1979) is a photographer living and working in Tallinn. In addition to photography and moving image, his work also includes music and site-specific works. His previous work has dealt with issues such as the relationship between seeing and imagining, people living on the margins of society and the consumer society. Pitkänen graduated as a photographer from the Lahti Institute of Design in 2006 and as a Master of Cinematography from the Baltic Film School in Tallinn in 2020. His work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Finland and abroad since 2005.