Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth, are never alone or weary of life. – Rachel Carson
Ville Rinne‘s documentary photograph exhibition Nature of Science, at the Photo North – Northern Photography Centre’s lobby gallery, explores the human quest to understand nature through scientific research. Over the course of the still-ongoing ten-year photographic project, Rinne’s understanding of scientific research has deepened, while his approach to documentary photography has become more experimental.
Since 2016, Rinne has been photographing subjects related to scientific research, including researchers, fieldwork and research materials, as well as different fields of research. His photographic expeditions have taken him to research and weather stations across Finland, from Tvärminne to Kilpisjärvi and Utsjoki. Alongside photographs, he has collected other visual material related to the research, such as notes and research reports. Using this material, Rinne has created a multidimensional body of work for the lobby gallery, combining different disciplines in a way that mirrors the complexity of scientific research itself. As well as offering a glimpse into the wonders of scientific research, Nature of Science showcases the tireless efforts of scientists, primarily presented to the general public as figures and diagrams in newspapers. In an era of growing disinformation, political upheaval and continuous budget cuts to science, this work appears almost as fragile as its subjects.
While the media reports on snowless winters, record-breaking wildfires and ongoing habitat loss, a researcher studying the incidence of water voles stares into a fist-sized pool of water on an islet in Tvärminne. This is what the researcher has been doing every summer for decades. Meanwhile, two hundred kilometres to the north, a researcher from the Finnish Meteorological Institute and their team are measuring the carbon dioxide absorbed by soil vegetation in Hyytiälä, while a third researcher is documenting the retreat of the Arctic forest boundary in Utsjoki. Finding a particular pollen particle in a particular layer of a bog may seem insignificant, but to a scientist it can reveal a world of information. By discovering new things and updating existing knowledge, they are solving an endless puzzle – also known as science.
The work has received support from the Uusimaa Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Press Photographer Fund of the Foundation to Promote Journalistic Culture, the Patricia Seppälä Foundation and the Björkqvist Fund.
The exhibition opening is held on 15th of January, 18:00 to 20:00. The opening starts at the main gallery. Welcome!
Ville Rinne
Nature of Science
16.1.-3.5.2026
Photo North – Nordic Photographic Centre, Foyer gallery
