ukka nurminen
Beneath the Waves of the Archipelago Sea

This exhibition delves deep, revealing unseen landscapes hidden beneath the Archipelago Sea. The images offer a rare glimpse of a world into which countless boaters plunge their anchors in summer, but few have seen with their own eyes. The photographs were taken during August-September in the years 2003-2005.

Finland’s coastal waters are typically considered cold, murky and desolate. To the untrained diver, the Finnish coast can all too often appear devoid of life, offering only overgrown algae and the most common fish species seen on ice at any fish market.

But the truth is that beneath the waves thrives a diverse ecosystem of hundreds of species of algae, invertebrates and fish, in which all of the major oceanic species groups are represented – sometimes in breathtaking shoals several thousands strong. The archipelago swarms with life and is one of our richest and most vibrant national landscapes.

These pictures share a vision of this sea at its best. Clear waters can only be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations if we succeed now in the battle against eutrophication.