Artist Statement — Annukka Kosonen
Trapped
Everybody hates November around here. In Helsinki, Finland it’s the beginning of a dark season that seems to last longer and longer every year. Being trapped is the feeling you have when the days start becoming shorter and shorter in fall while endlessly waiting for the relief that snow brings with its light-reflecting properties. The same thing happens every winter but this time it never snowed. Then on top of it all, the news about the virus started pouring in. 

The absence of snow made me see the winter from another perspective. I began to look more closely at the icy layers on the surface of the Baltic sea, in the frozen puddles and elsewhere. Moreover, I started to look at what was beneath it - trapped under the layer of ice.  I started with leaves, twigs and various bits and pieces. I ended up with light — sometimes hidden under frozen puddles soon to be converted into water by the weak winter sun. Other times these artifacts were trapped under the iced layer on top of the sea, only to be released in April.

Looking back at the time I made these images that trapped light beneath the ice made me feel I too was held captive beneath the weight of the endless November. Some of us perhaps still are but I’ll keep drawing with light since that is what sets me free.

The word photography was originally created from Greek and means ‘drawing with light’.

Annukka Kosonen is a photography enthusiast who only started with a DSLR six years ago. She mostly photographs urban nature in Helsinki and finds joy in a minimalistic approach. Her most treasured object is a 70-200mm lense attached to a camera that she carries around at all times.

All images © Annukka Kosonen