Fotografiska opens two exhibitions on the body and identity

Fotografiska has opened two exhibitions exploring the body, memory and identity, and how people relate to themselves and their surroundings, ERR reports.

Estonian artist and photographer Heikki Leis’s solo exhibition, “Storm Before Silence,” examines the ancient bond between people and water. It brings together portraits from the series “Surface Ripples” and images of people photographed in an aquarium for the series “Streamlines.” In the latter, bodies twist and intertwine underwater as the rippling surface distorts faces and familiar shapes.

Leis said he began the portrait series to see how faces appeared through water and how different layers emerged. Photographing people in the aquarium was technically demanding, he said, because the tank was large and heavy and difficult to position and control.

Bosnian artist Šejla Kamerić explores burdens passed down through generations of women, using her own body as a place of resistance and self-determination. Born in the former Yugoslavia, Kamerić has been deeply shaped by war and its aftermath. Her exhibition focuses on women’s bodies, social expectations and imposed roles.

Kamerić said her experiences as a woman artist and war survivor had shown her what it means to be trapped in a system that treats women and their bodies in particular ways, often unpleasantly and violently. She sees art as a space for freedom where she can address these subjects and encourage others to discuss them, ask questions and share ideas.

The exhibitions are on the third floor of Fotografiska, an exhibition venue, and will remain open until early March.