Opening on Thursday, February 19th, 5-7pm.
Guided tour on Sunday, March 15th, 1pm.
In recent years, Finnish media has devoted extensive attention to young people and the problems and risks associated with them. Racialised young men in particular have been subjected to intense scrutiny. The attention directed at them is often critical and negative. In public debate, however, young people’s own voices are frequently left unheard.
The documentary art series The Dreaded Youth by Karun Verma portrays young people in Helsinki. It is easy to speak about youth as a phenomenon, but quite another thing to look a person in the eye and encounter them as an individuals. Through this body of work, Verma seeks to strengthen young people’s presence and visibility in discussions concerning them, and to promote dialogue between different population groups.
The artist’s own position in relation to the subject matter is emphasised in the series. Verma feels that their background and young age were an asset when working with young people and helped to build mutual trust. By including self-portraits as part of the series, Verma also communicates the personal significance of the subject.
Photographs from the The Dreaded Youth series have previously been exhibited, among others, at Amos Rex in the Generation 2023 exhibition of young artists. In 2024, Verma was awarded the Youth Peace Prize for promoting equality and peace through their work. In the The Dreaded Youth exhibition, new video works are presented for the first time, in which young people’s own voices are heard more clearly than before.
Karun Verma (b. 2001) is a Helsinki-based photographic artist whose practice is rooted in documentary photography and video. The themes of their work range from everyday situations and details to broader societal questions. Through their art, Verma makes visible what we look at and how we look, and how what we see shapes us. In 2025, the University of Helsinki selected Verma for its 30 Under 30 list as one of the future changemakers in their field. Verma is currently studying in the Master’s Programme in Photography at Aalto University.
