Garden Utopia
The story of Europe's largest zinc mine in western Finland lasted for forty years, providing jobs for a whole generation. Finland is currently experiencing a mining boom; this is a tale of the last time that happened. It’s also the story of one of the last real tycoons, who built an entire village around their factory complete with homes, schools, and health care services. Today, not much remains.
PHOTOGRAPHER
SAKARI PIIPPO
BIOSakari Piippo (b. 1981) is a documentary photographer, writer and filmmaker based in Helsinki. He concentrates in his work on building archives to serve as meeting places for utopian imaginations.
His first book, Eräitä huomioita Suomen poliittisesta järjestelmästä (Kosmos, 2019), was awarded Most Beautiful Book of the Year in Finland and shown as a solo exhibition at the Finnish Museum of Photography. It opened a trilogy on the material and ideological substance of the Finnish welfare state, continuing with Alkuaine (Table of Elements, Khaos Publishing, November 2026), and concluding later with Encyclopedia Fennica.
Piippo holds a master's in visual journalism from the University of Tampere and a bachelor's in literature from the University of Oulu, and has studied visual storytelling at the Danish School of Media and Journalism and writing at the Critical Academy.
Prints and framed works are available through his shop, Pieni taidekauppa. Studio portraits also available on commission.
His first book, Eräitä huomioita Suomen poliittisesta järjestelmästä (Kosmos, 2019), was awarded Most Beautiful Book of the Year in Finland and shown as a solo exhibition at the Finnish Museum of Photography. It opened a trilogy on the material and ideological substance of the Finnish welfare state, continuing with Alkuaine (Table of Elements, Khaos Publishing, November 2026), and concluding later with Encyclopedia Fennica.
Piippo holds a master's in visual journalism from the University of Tampere and a bachelor's in literature from the University of Oulu, and has studied visual storytelling at the Danish School of Media and Journalism and writing at the Critical Academy.
Prints and framed works are available through his shop, Pieni taidekauppa. Studio portraits also available on commission.
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