Up close with Ola Kolehmainen
About Ola Kolehmainen
Born 1964 in Helsinki, Finland
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany
Ola Kolehmainen’s photographic work for over a decade centred on studies of contemporary architecture. He is known for abstract close-up images of glass, steel and tile that refer to the industrial finishes of 1960s minimal art. South of Home – Journey of a Mind (2010) is an exploratory extension of his work that involves multiple projections of iconic modernist buildings and environments he has shot in Sydney and elsewhere. Taking a new approach that deals specifically with the ‘poetics of light’, he compels us to ‘think again about what is the most ephemeral or magical aspect of photographic image-making [...] what was once so visually familiar takes on another life, less that of the transparent role used in dilineating a recognisable object or building, and more that of revealing how structures can be made photographically speaking to dissolve and mystify themselves’.1. Despite appearances, no digital manipulation is employed. This work challenges viewer’s familiar perceptions of renowned landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House.
1. Mark Gisbourne, unpublished text, 2009.