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WONDERS
Janne Räikkönen
Exhibition
Wonders is a photography exhibition by Janne Räikkönen.
The exhibition takes us on a trip around world, from the sea-beaten cliffs of Northern Scotland and the freezing mists on Lake Baikal to the mid-day warmth on Lamma Island in the East-China Sea and through the maze of torii gateways in Kyoto, Japan. The wonders of the natural world are seen here alongside the creations of human culture and its handprint on our planet.
“At first I was thinking of postcards, but when I looked deeper into this collection of pieces, I realised they are all, in their own way, places where I experienced a sense of wonder. I think it is the essence of travel to witness these moments, to let them pass through you, and to be left with the memory of them. That, if anything, is precious, and enriching. For me, that sense of wonder encapsulates what means to be alive.”
Medium: Photography
Edition: Pieces in this exhibition have a limited edition of 50.
Authenticity: Pieces in this edition ship with certificate of authenticity, signed by the artist.
shop exhibition pieces
About the artist
Janne Räikkönen is a Finnish photographer and writer.
Räikkönen’s photographs have been on display in numerous solo exhibitions, and they have been published by a variety of magazines and other publications, including Getty Images and Helsingin Sanomat. Räikkönen is a street photographer at heart, and Wonders is his first primarily landscape exhibition.
“A photograph of the world is essentially a record of time already passed. It is void of meaning until we instill it, until we find it, and until we see ourselves in its reflection”
Instagram: @janneraikkonen
ISLE OF SKYE
The green hills of Skye, as seen from the side of The Storr in Tròndairnis peninsula, Scotland.
The Storr is the highest point in Tròndairnis, a peculiarly shaped rock formation overlooking the Sound of Raasay and the North Atlantic Ocean. It is located in the northern tip of the Isle of Skye, the largest island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.
The isle offers some of the most spectacular views in the northern highlands, and some parts of it are surprisingly remote. The roads are rough and winding, with some of them inaccessible during the winter months.
ANNAPURNA MASSIF
Annapurna South, as seen here from a hilltop near Tolkha in the Annapurna foothills, Nepal. The massif consists of thirteen peaks over 7,000 metres and one, Annapurna I, that soars over eight kilometres above sea level.
The peaks of Annapurna are notoriously dangerous to climb. Roughly one third of the attempts to ascend the main summit have resulted in the climber perishing on the mountain side.
The mountain takes, and the mountain gives, as in addition to rice, the local people are growing corn, lentil, potato, spinach, beans, pumpkin, cauliflower, cabbage, tangerine, apple, banana and tea on the slopes of the massif. On the sun-baked slopes, also cannabis is growing abundantly in the wild. It is no wonder the name ‘Annapurna’ derives from Sanskrit, meaning the giver of nourishment, with ‘anna‘ meaning ‘food’ and ‘purna‘ meaning ‘full, complete and perfect.’
LAMMA ISLAND
Lamma Island near Hong Kong is a beautiful and quaint retreat from the crowded city, just a short boat trip away.
Much of the island is a nature preserve (that hopefully lasts). The southern part is an important breeding ground for sea turtles and most of the island is still only accessible by hiking trails.
MONGOLIAN STEPPE
The Mongolian-Manchurian steppe, as seen here from a hillside near Zoonmod, Mongolia, is a temperate grassland crescent that spans for nearly 900 000 square kilometres around the Gobi desert in Inner Mongolia and Northeast China, bordered by the Siberian tundra in the north.
The steppe is a dry and harsh place, with cold winters and hot summers. During the dry winter months the vast grass plains easily catch fire, which largely explains why trees grow here only in small islands like this.
ANGKOR WAT
Prasat Angkor Wat, Khmer for ‘Capital Temple’, is the largest religious monument on Earth. Spanning some 160 hectares over the plain in northern Cambodia, the temple complex was originally built as a Hindu testament of the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into Buddhism toward the end of the 12th century.
Lying near the hill of Phnom Dei, the temple Banteay Srey, or, the Citadel of Women, is dedicatd to the Hindu god Shiva. Originally it was called Tribhuvanamahesvara, Greeat Lord of the Threefold World.
FUSHIMI INARI-TAISHA
The Fushimi Inari-taisha in Kyoto, Japan is the head shrine to the god Inari, the primary deity of rice, agriculture and business.
The torii tunnels span over four kilometres along the slopes of the mountain, criss-crossing from shrine to shrine. The shrine was originally built in the 8th century on the Inariyama hill, but it was re-located in the 9th century, with the main shrine built in the late 15th century.
The inner shrine on the mountain is reachable only by a path lined with thousands of torii gateways. To walk through the gate means to enter from the mundane world to the sacred one.
LAKE BAIKAL
Lake Baikal, here seen from the southwest strand, lies in southern Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the west and Buryat Rebulic to the southeast. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world, containing some 23% of the world’s fresh water reserve with the surface area the size of Belgium.
Carved in an ancient rift valley and surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides, Baikal is the deepest, and after 25-30 million years of existence, the oldest lake in the world.
The Buryat tribes, as their forebears, still raise goats, camels and horses on the eastern side of the lake, a region of Siberia known as Transbaikalia.