Tiina Itkonen

- In what way does your chosen piece for HRW reflect 2020?

Temperatures in the Arctic are rising twice as fast as in the rest of the planet. In Greenland, sea ice is disappearing at a rate of about 10% per decade. The Arctic is likely to be largely free of sea ice in summer by 2040. The culture of on-ice subsistence hunting will be hugely impacted, and, in the long-term future, lost forever.

BIO

Tiina Itkonen, (b. 1968), a photographer from Helsinki, Finland, has been documenting Greenland and its inhabitants through her camera for over 25 years. Her latest project Piniartoq documents the traditional life of the Arctic hunters in Greenland to understand how it is affected by climate change. The project is a collaboration with a polar scientist Dr. Kristin Laidre and a writer Susan McGrath.

Itkonen has traveled more than 1 500 kilometers along the west coast of Greenland by dogsled, fishing scow, sailboat, helicopter, small plane, cargo ship and oil tanker and along the way spending time in small villages and coming to know the Greenlandic people.
Itkonen´s work has been exhibited at international venues including the 54th Biennale de Venezia, 17th Biennale of Sydney, Danish National Museum of Photography and Anchorage Museum in Alaska. Some of her images are captured in her two books Inughuit, 2004 and Avannaa, 2014.

Qeqertarsuaq is photographed in Qaanaaq, northernmost Greenland.

Tiina Itkonen was recommended to 20 21 Artists in support of Human Rights Watch by Scarlet Hooft Graaftland.

www.tiinaitkonen.com Instagram: @tiinaitkonen

This artwork is unframed and located in Helsinki, Finland. WILLAS contemporary will facilitate artwork release within 21 days after payment. Can be picked up by the buyer, or shipped at the buyer´s expense.