Animal Image

‘An animal simply is,’ nature photographer and writer Heikki Willamo says as dazzling black-and-white images segue from a forest bear to a seagull gliding over the sea. The animal images are themselves captivating, without any need to ask what is happening next. Directed and shot by Perttu Saksa, a well-known photographer, Animal Image borrows its form and speech from the reputed existence of animals: there is only here and now. In their art, both Saksa and Willamo are interested in the relationship between humans and animals as well as humans’ relationship with the animal within them. Hence, Animal Image is also a study of humanity and especially our attitude towards landscapes. What do they mean for the modern man? They no longer signify a map; they are not registered as tracks left in the snow, either to follow or to avoid. Besides Willamo’s text, improvised music by trumpeter Verneri Pohjola and drummer Mika Kallio leads us into the poetics of landscape and nature. Improvisation is creating a performance in the moment – reacting to the here and now. Animal Image forms a series of moments, where people can also simply be.
Henna Raatikainen (Translation: Liina Härkönen) (DocPoint)