The photographic series Atlas of Emotions by Jari Silomäki (b. 1975) is a record of 21st century events: the rapid rise in prosperity and inequality in developing countries, the shared server-run home country that is the Internet, the public presentation of personal histories and privacy protection, and the effects of European political populism on the lives of individuals.
The focal point of Silomäki's work has for two decades been the positioning of the individual within the societal narrative of the times. Through subtle and private stories, he shows us the true faces of grand geopolitical twists and turns using narrative documentary photography, intimately coupled with textual expression.
Silomäki's series are born through years of observation, investigation, construction, and artistic portrayals. He draws themes and inspiration from his own life and the lives of those he encounters, embracing the life stories of strangers he meets on the street or online. One of the series in the exhibition, My Weather Diary, was begun in the early 2000s and is still expanding to this day. Atlas of Emotions is Silomäki's broadest solo exhibition to date, most of the works in which will now see their world debut.
