Tero Kokko : Nature speaks in the Kalevala

The Kalevala is Finland's national epic, on the basis of which the entire Finnish culture has been built, but what would the Kalevala have to say today?

I started to read the Kalevala. There arose questions
that I wanted to begin to clarify. I photographed,
acquired source material and looked for connections
between the Kalevala and the lives of modern Finns.

I became particularly interested in man's relationship with nature, because I think that modern man has distanced himself from nature, does not know what it has to offer and does not know how to adapt his activities to the limits of nature.

The goal of my Nature Speaks in the Kalevala
project is to bring the Kalevala closer to people.
I want to hear what ancient man might have to
say today. That is the message I want to convey
with this book and my pictures.

The book has been published in addition to Finnish also in English and Estonian.

Tero Kokko is a visually impaired
photographer who has received grants for his artistic work from Finnfoto, for example.

In addition to solo exhibitions, he has participated in group exhibitions and developed a method for visually impaired people to experience images
on the basis of touch. Poetry books have also been published based on Kokko's photographs.