14/05/2014

Space, Light and Colour by Ola Kolehmainen

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Els Colors, 2012. Photograph by Ola Kolehmainen.

The examination of light, space and colour. Sounds intriguing doesn’t it? Well Finnish photographer Ola Kolehmainen has been questioning our way of looking at the world for most of his career. He uses architecture as a reference and source of inspiration, from this he plays on many different aspects of a build such as the grid like structure and reflective nature of glass. After photographing these details he often takes the negatives in to the light room and manipulates them one by one achieving unusual effects.

I discovered Ola whilst viewing Jacksons recent exhibit titled ‘Encounters with Aalto’. Their short film (which is worth watching here) talks about the combination between Alvar Aalto, Artek and photographer Ola Kolehmainen himself. Ola mentions his abstract photography and his interest in how architects are influenced by artists and vice versa. Over time both architects Alvar Aalto and Mies van der Rohe have inspired his own work, stating “they influenced many contemporary architects who in turn influenced my photographs.”

This is the sort of photography I admire myself, experimental but conceptual. I’ve been thinking about the use of colour in my own work, a series like this gives me a chance to fall back on the greats and study how they used colour and space to create harmony. All in all you could say Ola’s photographs tinker on the edges of minimal art, but it’s not like these photographs aren’t recognisable, it’s quite obvious that they are buildings. They’re challenging our perspective and thinking, which is always going to be a positive.

gallerytaikpersons.com/kolehmainen-ola

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Trace of Human, 2008. Photograph by Ola Kolehmainen.