Shambles (2023-)

Shambles is an ongoing photography project, that examines the speculation around homicide cases that have taken place in Lahti, which is one of the cities with the highest homicide rates in Finland. Lahti got its nickname “Finland’s Chicago” in the mid-1910s. Back then, it was a reference to the large number of slaughterhouses in both cities. However, in the 70s, Lahti’s homicide rate increased alarmingly, so the nickname got a new meaning. 

The narrative of the work balances between reality and fiction by displaying facts and pure speculation hand in hand. Some of the pictures have been printed, written on and scanned or otherwise heavily edited. This process embodies a “broken telephone” effect into the pictures, while other, more documentary style photographs remain untouched. This makes some of the pictures seem more reliable and realistic than others, questioning the evidentiary value of the photograph.

It’s natural for humans to be curious and look for explanations on extreme phenomenons like homicides. When the amount of information is limited, people start to fill in the gaps subconsiously and make up their own truth without even acknowledging it.