Visual Artist · b. 1979, Oulu · Lives & works in Helsinki
Sara
Ahde
“Simplified, easily approachable expression to portray the simmering complexity that bubbles beneath the surface of everyday reality.”
In recent years my way of working has been highly process-oriented. I mainly work with photography, video and sound. My image-world is both emotionally familiar and devoid of precise attachments. I work on small series of images that converge through their diversity to form a single holistic entity. The narrative nature of my works, as well as their technical execution, varies greatly between series. I work every day at my studio in Kallio, Helsinki.
Selected Material
Selected Exhibitions
- 2027 Solo — Hippolyte Photography Gallery, Helsinki (upcoming) Solo
- 2026 Solo — Gallery Bässen, Mustio Manor (upcoming) Solo
- 2026 kryoPORTAAL / Frozen People — Valve Gallery, Oulu Group
- 2024 North Sublime — State Art Gallery, Sopot Photography Festival, Poland Solo
- 2022 Helsinki Darkroom Festival — Hippolyte Korjaamo, Helsinki Group
- 2012 Pingyao International Photography Festival, China Group
- 2003 Isi and Me — Concourse Gallery, London Solo
Full exhibition history in the CV.
Collections
- Finnish State Art Collection
- Polish State Art Collection
- Private collections
Residencies
- FFWRS Festival, Sopot — 2024
- Villa Karo, Grand-Popo, Benin — 2023
- Arts Promotion Centre, Berlin — 2009
Education
- Byam Shaw School of Art, Central Saint Martins — UAL London, BA (Hons) Fine Art
- Academy of Fine Arts, Uniarts Helsinki — Contemporary art theory
Gallery Bässen
Alongside my own artistic work I run my own non-commercial gallery of contemporary art, Gallery Bässen. Situated in an old locomotive garage at Mustio Manor in Raseborg, it opened in spring 2020 and serves as a summer gallery from June to the end of August. Its changing programme presents contemporary art by Finnish and international artists. In 2022 the gallery expanded outdoors to exhibit sculptures and installations in the surrounding nature. The exhibitions are also part of the Fiskars Village Biennial.
Alongside curating and coordinating, I have also been active and long-standing in the organisational side of the arts — boards of directors, exhibition committees and grant committees.