Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen

Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen is a Finnish photographer who has worked in Britain since the 1960s.^[1]

Life and work

Born in Myllykoski (Kouvola) Finland in 1948, Konttinen studied photography in London in the 1960s, and cofounded the Amber collective, which moved to Newcastle.

From 1969 Konttinen lived in Byker, and for seven years photographed and interviewed the residents of this area of terraced houses until her own house was demolished. She continued to work there for some time afterwards. This resulted in the book Byker,^[2] which in David Alan Mellor's words "bore witness to her intimate embeddedness in the locality".^[3] In 1980 she became the first photographer since the Cultural Revolution to have her work exhibited by the British Council in China.^[3]

Konttinen's next project was a study of girls attending dance schools in North Shields, their mothers, and the schools. The book Step by Step came from this.^[2]

Three years of photographing the beach between Seaham and Hartlepool resulted in the series "Coal Coast".^[4]

Konttinen later returned to Byker and photographed its new residents in colour.

Exhibitions

• "Documents of the North East" (with Graham Smith, James Cleet, and Robert Carling). Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1977.^[5]
• "Photographs from the Beaches" (with Markéta Luskačová). Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1978.^[5]
• "North Tyneside" (with Isabella Jedrzejczyk, Markéta Luskačová and Graham Smith). Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1981.^[5]
• "Byker". Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1983.^[5]
• "Cedarwood Woman". Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1988.^[5]
• "Step by Step". Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1989; touring, 1990, 1992.^[5]
• "The Writing in the Sand". Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1991; touring 1993.^[5]
• "Dream On" (with Steve Conlan and Richard Grassick). Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1992.^[5]
• "My Finnish Roots". Side Gallery (Newcastle) and touring, 1993, 1994.^[5]
• "Quayside" (with Graham Smith). Side Gallery (Newcastle) and touring, 1993.^[5]
• "Writing in the Sand". Side Gallery (Newcastle), 2000.^[6]
• "Coalfield Stories" (group). Side Gallery (Newcastle), 2002–2003.^[7]
• "Coal Coast". Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (Gateshead), 2003.^[4]
• "Coalfield Stories" (with John Davies and Simon Norfolk). Photofusion, London, 2005–2006.^[8]
• "Byker Revisited". Side Gallery (Newcastle), 2009.^[9]

Awards and recognition

• Grand Prix at the Melbourne International Film Festival (1992) for the film The Writing in the Sand.^[10]
• Prix du Documentaire, Cinéma du Réel, Paris (1992) for the film The Writing in the Sand^[10]
• On 23 May 2011, Konttinen's photography of the northeast of England from 1969 to 2009, and Amber's related films, became one of twenty items and collections to join the UK Memory of the World Register.^[11]

Books

• Byker. London: Jonathan Cape, 1983. ISBN 0224021095. Newcastle: Bloodaxe Books, 1985. ISBN 0906427908.
• Step by Step. Newcastle: Bloodaxe Books, 1989. ISBN 1852240598.
• Writing in the Sand: On the Beaches of North East England. Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2001. ISBN 1899235973.
  • Écrit dans le sable: sur les plages du Nord-Est de l'Angleterre. Paris: Schultz, 2000. ISBN 9187370301. (French)
  • Skrivet i sanden: på sandstränderna i nordöstra England. Stockholm: Schultz Forlag, 2000. ISBN 9187370263. (Swedish)
  • Hiekkaan kirjoitettu: Koillis-Englannin rannoilla. Oulu: Kustantamo Pohjoinen, 2000. ISBN 9517493401. (Finnish)
• The Coal Coast. Newcastle: Amberside, 2003. ISBN 0951205811.
• Byker Revisited. Newcastle: Northumberland University Press, 2009. ISBN 9781904794424.

Notes

1. ^ Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen (ed. Andrew Pulver), "Photographer Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen's best shot", The Guardian, 12 August 2009. Accessed 2010-02-19.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen", Amber Online. Accessed 2010-02-19.
3. ^ ^{a b} David Alan Mellor, No Such Thing as Society: Photography in Britain 1967–1987: From the British Council and the Arts Council Collection (London: Hayward Publishing, 2007; ISBN 978-1-85332-265-5), p.84.
4. ^ ^{a b} Richard Moss, "Coal Coast: Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen Photos at the Baltic", culture24.org.uk. Accessed 2010-02-20.
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} "Side Gallery Exhibitions 1977–1994", Amber Online. Accessed 2010-02-19.
6. ^ 2000 exhibitions, Amber Online. Accessed 2010-02-20.
7. ^ "Coalfield Stories", Amber Online. Accessed 2010-02-20.
8. ^ "Coalfield Stories" Photofusion, 2005. "Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen - Exhibitions", Photography-now.com. Both accessed 2010-02-21.
9. ^ "Byker Revisited", Reinventing the City. Accessed 2010-02-21.
10. ^ ^{a b} "The Writing in the Sand", Dfgdocs. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
11. ^ "2011 UK Memory of the World Register", United Kingdom National Commission for UNESCO.