Milla Talassalo’s exhibition is a study of triplet sisterhood. In the exhibition, entitled 3, Talassalo examines individuality and her own identity in relation to her sibling counterparts.
It is difficult to explain triplet sisterhood. The finest aspect is the phenomena of feeling, periodically, understood without words. For Talassalo, her sisters’ worries are her worries, and their joys reside in her as well. As children, the sisters always stuck together: they shared the same school, schedules, hobbies, and friends. From time to time the sisters felt frustrated when objectified and exoticsised by the gaze of “outsiders” who marvelled at them.
Talassalo sensed that most people outside her household did not regard the sisters as individuals, whereas within her family they were treated as distinct members among the rest.
In the exhibition displayed at Turun Taidehalli’s small gallery, the theme of being an observer and observed intertwines with the experience of selfhood. The body of work is simultaneously intimate and distant. In many exhibition works, Talassalo addresses selfhood with self-portraits as well as with references to nature. She also contemplates thematics of invisibility—the core questions being: if alone, am I invisible? Who am I without my sisters?
In her photographs, Talassalo observes the differences and similarities between the sisters. In a minimalistic manner she shoots objects on a white background, and on the other hand, makes use of the long exposure times creating poetically layered images. By interrogating personal recollections—nostalgia, childhood, adulthood, and the present—the exhibition reflects on the importance of family connections and lifelong relationships.
Text: Photographic Gallery Hippolyte
