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I think
that my fathers thoughts are big.

Once
we were watching TV
my father came from the sauna
and said:
I didn’t die yet

Another time
my father was lying on the sofa
looking at the stars through the roof
he seemed to be thinking
why didn’t I make this world
a better place for my children

And once,
once he told me
happy birthday
I remember it as if it were yesterday

Legacy by Tekla Inari combines images and text to study a topic that touches the Finnish society even today: the trauma of war and the burdens inherited from one generation to the next in the post-war Finland. The poetic, collage-like work uses a young woman’s voice to narrate the harsh story of one family over several decades. Compiled of new and old photographs, poems, and short prose texts, the book interweaves the past and the present into fictive documentary.

Graduated from the Aalto University MA Programme in Photographic Art, Tekla Inari is a Finnish artist who implements text and photography in her expression. In her work, she aims to harness personal stories for the exploration of larger societal themes. Tekla is based in Helsinki, Finland and also works as an art educator and freelance photographer in the area.

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