Hover over the image for navigation and full screen controls
ESSAY CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT
EPF 2010 Finalist
Jukka Onnela
Of Obsessions
Night or nighttime is the period of time when the sun is below the horizon. The opposite of night is day. The disappearance of sunlight, the primary energy source for life on Earth, has dramatic impacts on the morphology, physiology and behavior of almost every organism. Some animals sleep during the night, while other nocturnal animals including moths and crickets are active during this time.
“My goal with these photographs? Even saying that sentence is like listening to a junkie bumming money from his mother… …the shit that my brother poured out of his mouth when he was an addict was unbelievable. I remember this one Christmas Eve when he called to my mother that he needed three thousand euros, or otherwise “some men” would kill him. I can’t remember if my mother gave him any money, although usually she did give some”.
-Excerpt from a recorded conversation, Helsinki, 2007
“Sometimes I have this insect like feeling. It usually comes after a long manic phase .”
-K. In a bar 2009
Mania is generally characterized by a distinct period of an elevated, expansive, or irritable mood state. People experience an increase in energy and a decreased need for sleep. They may indulge in substance abuse, particularly alcohol or other depressants, cocaine or other stimulants.Their behavior may become aggressive.
“I love my mother but I think it’s not an oedipal thing”.
-K. 2009
“When the depression really hits everything turns into yellow and grey. I don’t know why, but the colours remind me of the year 1984. My grandfather died that year. “
-Excerpt from J’s monologue. 2007
“Your moral, economical and religious values have created this enormous vacuum around you. All your ideas and acts are stained by these twisted values, or more likely by the lack of them.”
-M. 2009
I document my surroundings, the people who inhabit it and the situations, that I somehow consider to be significant, by using recorded conversations, texts and photographs.
Bio
Jukka Onnela (1977) lives and works in Helsinki, Finland. He is one of the founding members of an European photography collective, Collective Smoke. His work could be described as personal documentary.
Related links
vicky slater,
“Heh, Anthony, thank goodness you’re here to put us nice, overly sensitive people straight :)”
Now, Vicky, you aren’t being entirely honest with yourself, are you? :))… Cheers
All of us are sensitive and all of us have opinions. I really like the way the story is being told – excellent – I just find the photographs boring to look at due to the way they have been taken. The compositions, how they have been framed are simply not remotely interesting. I also find ‘the reality’ lacking any depth or interest. I have been in most of these situations at some point or other including having blood gushing out of my head – ten times as much as that – my whole body messed up with broken bones and have seen sex, drugs, rock and roll, all of this and worse, it just makes me want to yawn. I wish the author would focus on something we have not seen before. How about the lives of a trans-sexual/trans-sexuals? That would be interesting wouldn’t it? Or, as it seems the only person in the sequence that the author actually has strong feelings for: his mother. I don’t care about the subject or the telling as much as I care about: the individual image. And not one of these YET reaches the bar.
Errata… in this sequence, I see love of the child most clearly (child looking up) and this is also the best of the photographs in terms of composition.
Wow, I love this, very intense in some photos, though there is some gratuity in others. Overalll it does give a feeling of what human obsessions (and perversions) can be.
ready to eat any junk and attempt to cook that is given to them…
—————————————————————
Yes I agree with your insult .. I’m an idiot as u say , watching tv and fed “junk” all day and I’m glad that also the EPF jurors like BRUCE GILDEN are also “brainless junk eaters” with no judgment that just eat what they are served…
You are the “enlightened” and the rest of us the sheep..
Thank you Jesus…
Actually I’m glad u don’t understand Jukka.. That would scare the shit out of me…
So keep on staying superior and let us eat the junk..
No reason to insult us though, unless u can’t help it…
Obviously….:(
Vicky, someone is trying to open our eyes here..
Armed with insults .. Got an idea.. Let’s watch him do it..
DAH, I have sent you three essays. One through the submission for EPF and two for consideration for Burn. Never received anything in acknowledgement and no announcement I was a finalist or contender. Check your stuff. One of this is very raw. Have a look.
Jenny, the photographs are anything but boring in my opinion. Having seen them and commented already I can elaborate and say that this work, while important on some level, makes me very sad. Sad cause I can’t do anything about it and sad because I know the angst the photographer goes through to put such personal stuff out there. Hurts me to look at it.
The D’Agata followers/lovers/fans are the funniest of all magnum fans..
Are the same that hated the pre-Magnum Antoine but they love the magnum one.. Why?
It’s the good ol’ “power game” …proves..:(
These type of D’Agatas lovers that wouldn’t provide Antoine a couch for the night , out of fear…
Chickens:(
Lee: Things become boring when we seen them over and over, no? I find these photographs boring. The only image that is remotely interesting to me is of the trans-sexual person lying on a bed because gender issues interest me. If I wanted to see just one image of a trans-sexual person, I feel sure I could just surf the net.
One minute later… yes, I just found a whole lot of links of similar images. It is an image I would normally look for but, having said that, now that I have seen that picture that Jukka took, I would be interested to know about that person’s life and to hear about their story. I can find a million similar images on the net already it seems. Same too with that picture of someone injecting themselves that was in the last essay of Jukka’s as well. I am now finding hundreds of similar ‘raw’ images – pictures of crack users, crystal meth users, heroin users, wow… Hispanics, white guys, black guys, everyone… millions of images on sex sites as well. Sorry but I can’t find one interesting image among any of it.
I must be on a totally different page because I like the work of Bruce Gilden and DAH. I don’t know who the jurors were.
oops… typo… it is an image i would not normally look at
The EPF Jury for 2010 was: Alessandra Sanguinetti, Michael Nichols and Bruce Gilden…
—–/————————
So Jenny go that weird guy whining above
that all those jurors are brainless idiots that love to be fed junk and cook with it..
If Bruce and Alessandra are brainless then guess what..
I’m an idiot too…
I’d rather eat what Bruce is eating than go to that RZ restaurant…
(and for the history DAH was NOT judging..
Go TELL that weird guy I meant to say..
Big hug Jenny
Panos: Which one? ; )
“ready to eat any junk and attempt to cook that is given to them”
If there is ever a ‘top favourite quotes on Burn’, I would have to choose this as one of them. It is wonderful and totally winds people up which is what good journalism does and, some would argue, ‘good’ pictures as well. Outta here! Take care everyone! You too Jukka! Hi to you and to your Mom!
“ready to eat any junk and attempt to cook that is given to them”
———————————————————–
Yup :”top Quote” so far..;)
Hard to top this one of.. Practically impossible ..
Not only because is insulting most of us but mainly because it insults great guys out there.. People that proved themselves like Allasandra S., Bruce Gilden and the rest:(
Alessandra, I meant
And yes you are free to not like Jukka’s work mister..
That make sense, many didn’t..
But noone but You insulted us with poisonous quotes..
But I know where this hate (righteousness) comes from..
Guess what I was not an Epf finalist either..
But I’m here for the long haul..
Are you? I’m tired of this attitude treating EPF like lotto..
And sorry you didn’t “win”…
Now I’m ready for the next big Quote of the day
“We all know that art is not the truth, art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.” ~ Pablo Picasso
DAH, it is very hard to put your life out there for viewing, especially when it exposes chinks in your armor. I have pulled the prints out on the three essays I submitted here (for EPF & Burn) and see better now. When I look at work like Jukka’s, that is self-absorbed almost narcissistic, it helps me get past the fear of doing so myself. Because that is what I felt on the piece that started in NY, narcissistic and self-absorbed. “Oh just get over it” kind of treatment of myself. Many of us that have commented here have noted that seeing these types of essays that are everywhere is getting boring. Maybe in part because we don’t want to see pieces of these kinds of lives in our own.
When seeing work like Jukka’s really does for me is it exposes another little chink in my armor and even though I am no where near being an addict that sticks a needle in his arm, or slobbers on the street, or steals money from my mother, I am an addict. Feeding at the trough of imposed ideals of love and relationships in general has been one hard addiction to give up. But I have (well not totally probably) and the photos I took along the way mark my way.
A friend of mine posted this video on Facebook that spoke so clearly to me about the infinite questioning and the beauty of asking those questions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToEPFDIzhNA&feature=related
In looking through the essays I found my acknowledgement that the one I posted for EPF was received so I did receive that kind of acknowledgment. I am working on this again and seeing one essay coming from all three (Panos is the one that made that comment and started me on this line of thinking). Your note that the outside my window series was a romanticized version of my life was funny. I had not realized I was a romantic.
And speaking of replication of material, I saw your note to Pete regarding his work with the Mennonites. Funny, I have a whole series on them (two shot in Missouri and one in Maine when they moved due to banning from their community) and thought it was quite novel to be able to “get in” and shoot. Two of the photos were accepted into the juried art show here in Maui. I have Larry Towell’s book “The Mennonites” and found I liked my family approach better than his, although his book is quite good.
Maybe another teacher could awaken these talents inside but I just happened to find you. So as always, thanks for the nudge.
Lee, thank you for the link, it put a smile on my face :)
Just some final thoughts on this essay.
First, as I said in my very first comment, this is powerful work. That has become clear considering the number of comments and the very strong opinions and emotions expressed here.
There is no question about Jukka’s ability to communicate his message. While I may have issues with some of the method, and certainly the message, it is effectivly and deliberatly done.
I’ve viewed the images many times, and began to wonder why these images work. Part of it is the ambiguity and the questions left un-answered. I am forced to make up my own story about each picture, and of the series as whole. Is that Jukka’s mom?, which person is Jukka, and which is his brother, or are neither?, the money and the two nudes, prostitutes?, friends? And so on. It is ugly stuff, made me angry, and stirred up my own immediate personal issues with drugs, hedonism, and the young people in my life.
I have to assume that is was Jukkas intention to shake people up, and if so, he has succeeded. Jukka, thanks for stiring the pot. I’d love to hear from you here.
DAH, again, thanks for bringing us work that challenges us.
JUKKA
I have read ‘A Kind of Error’ and want you to know that the gravity and reflectiveness of your words will remain in my heart, always. Your photographs will not as they appear not to reflect your heart. Two messages for you from HH Dalai Lama.
“The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s own reason and critical analysis.”
“To conquer oneself is a greater victory than to conquer thousands in a battle.” HH Dalai Lama
Sending you a hug,
Jenny
PANOS/JUKKA
When I spoke about gaining permission, it was not permission to take the photograph. Of course, permission has been given in that instant the photograph was taken. That is not what I am talking about. I am talking about permission to distribute/show in magazines, on the internet, in galleries. I would like to know if, given that the photographs are so revealing of the subjects, whether they are all okay to be seen as they are represented and portrayed. It is the same question that needed to be put to Aisha on the cover of TIME magazine whose image has been used to promote war. In this case, the subjects are being used for whatever purpose Jukka has in this sharing of ‘his’ life.
by the way, Aisha did not know that her image was being used in that way…
she wanted ‘a new nose’ and was told she would get one if she posed for the photograph, i presume…
Jenny, from listening to this recording I don’t get the impression it was a case of posing in return for surgery…
http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,294175100001_2007267,00.html
Thank you Vicky. I have heard that recording. I have also read a report of Aisha who was interviewed in New York on her way to have surgery this week. That report stated that she did not know that she was to be on the cover of TIME, only that she allowed the picture to be taken because she wanted a new nose. If you don’t mind, I feel this discussion ought to be on the other thread out of respect to Jukka. Do you agree? I would be happy to provide a link or two on there if you are interested in this subject or feel free to add me as a friend on Facebook where we have been discussing the issue at length given the very serious nature of the matter.
——————————
The question I have put to Jukka concerns whether the subjects are happy being represented in this way to an audience on the internet, in magazines and potentially in galleries. It concerns privacy issues. I am just curious.
ps sorry to add another line on here which is rather off-topic, but i feel the need to clarify that the seriousness of the matter relates to the creation of war propaganda on the cover of a magazine with a circulation of millions which is seen throughout the streets of America (rather than the serious of the matter relating to the matter of how we represent the subject which is of course, a very important issue as well).
?? Jenny, I was simply replying to your posting, that’s all.
?? Vicky, good! And I was responding to yours! : )
Same topic.
Penises, heroin, sadness, blood…
I don’t like this work, sorry.