Marja Pirila

Marja Pirila 

Marja Pirila is a lady who was born in 1957 in Finland near the Arctic Circle. In 1996 she became obsessed with the phenomenon 'camera obscura', she believes this is due to her northern heritage and fascination of the lights there. Marja has worked on a number of projects that go as follows -"Interior/Exterior" (1996–) I have made the projects "Milavida" (2012-2013), "Speaking House" (2004–2006) and "Inner Landscapes" (2009–2011). Her ongoing project being 'interior/exterior' that she started back in 1996. She has dozens of exhibitions across Finland and other countries and her gallery representation lies with gallery Heino, Helsinki, Finland. 

This first image is from the 'interior/exterior' collection of Marja's work. It shows two little boys (Alvar and Eerik) in their home in Rovaniemi, Finland. The two little boys are the main subject of the image as they are what the viewer see's first. Especially due to the fact they are sitting on toy boxes, one quite high-up. Some viewers may see this behaviour as mischievous, tiring into the expected behaviour of an 8/9-year-old boy. From their appearance we can assume they are brothers, playing in their room together on a bright sunny day. The reason we can tell what the day is like is that of the landscape that fills the wall, the sky looks blue and there isn't much movement, indicating Summer. The large tree from the landscape fills most of the wall and projects a slight pattern onto the boy's faces and bodies. This really adds depth to the photograph as the landscape outside mixes into the interior. This is why I believe this image was put into the 'interior/exterior' collection as they blend so well, the two belong together and neither looks out of place in its location. I think the pops of colour from the boxes in this image adds to the childish, youthful feel of it. Without the toys and boxes, this image looked plain and lifeless, as if the boys didn't fit into the room or were staged for the photograph. However it seems to me that Marja is looking into their life without altering anything, she has photographed it how it is. This shows the beauty of their natural behaviour.

Again this image is from the collection 'interior/exterior' and is of a young girl called Sara from Tampere, Finland. As you can see the young girl is laying on her bed staring straight at the camera with branches projected around her room and across her face. I feel that the girl in the image looks very elegant and fragile due to her pale complexion and fair hair laid out on the bed. The expression on her face suggests to me worry or fear, her eyes are wide and fixated on the camera. She seems to be shadowed by this dark branch above her head that brings darkness into her otherwise light room. Perhaps this represents the fears of the girl, her innocence being overshadowed by something much bigger and more fearful than herself. I like the closeness of this image as I feel it brings a personal touch to the image, by being able to see the girl so well we can see her expression and the detail of her setting perfectly. I also like the use of light and dark in this photo as it almost appears to me that it was taken at night time although this probably isn't true. However, the bright area in the centre that is lighting her face reminds me of moonlight and the rest of the room is still cast in shadow. I would like to create an image as detailed as this in my own work. 

The photograph above is of a little boy called Leevi, taken in his home in Tampere, Finland. It appears to me that he is sitting at the end of his bed enjoying the view out of the window. His expression looks slightly upset like there is something on his mind and he has distanced himself to think. Due to the camera obscura effect, I can take this observation further as we can see what the boy is looking at outside the window. The bare, tall and dark trees seem overpowering even when projected into his room, they seem intimidating to be outside the window. I feel that this reflects the way the boy is acting, maybe he is fearful of his setting or the outside world. One thing I really enjoy about this image is the fact that the landscape only covers half of the room as opposed to all of it and it isn't on any walls. Instead, it is concentrated on the end of the bed and the foreground of the floor. This makes a distinction between the outside that has a blue tone and looks cold to the inside where we can see the orange, warm light coming through the door. To me, this shows the difference between interior and exterior and which one is more inviting. 

This photograph shows a young couple and was taken in Florence, Italy. The couple is laying on the bed with the man cuddling the woman who appears to be asleep. I feel that this image shows the 'real' side of love, it doesn't show a perfect or unrealistic setting instead it shows a normal messy room with clothes hanging on the wall. As this is so close to reality the photograph appears very personal, like we as the viewer are looking through their window to see their everyday life. The landscape that is on the wall shows us the view from the window giving us a further idea of who the people are. The houses opposite don't look very fancy,  they look like regular housing so we can only assume this is similar to where they are. Again this 'reality' check photography links well to the viewers as most people will have experience with an environment like this as opposed to the work Abelardo Morell who focuses on amazing landscapes. I love the narrative you can infer from this piece as there are many ways I could imagine the couple being, therefore it is a piece that is described differently by each viewer. 

Influence

This camera obscura image was influenced by Marja Pirila. Her work includes amazing but subtle reflections of the outside world in a room where people are getting on with everyday life. I decided to include this in my work as I feel the subjects added meaning and a story to the images I was photographing. It also allowed me to be more creative with my work as you can see above I did a double exposure in this image. I feel that Pirila's work has had the biggest influence on my work as it has shaped the way the rest of my work has gone. I feel that carrying on with the project, having subjects in the photographs has massively improved my images. 

Overall, I love the appearance of Marja Pilira's work, it is more appealing than just seeing the camera obscura. I feel that by researching her work it has made me think more creatively about the rest of my project rather than just changing the interiors, I can chagne the meaning and the subject within.