Vilma Leino

Biography:

Vilma Leino (b. Finland, 1999) is a Berlin-based photographer. Her work focuses on self-portrait photography, which she uses to reflect inner emotions, solitude, and difficult psychological stages. In her work, she creates female characters with untold stories and experiments with strong color schemes, composition, and the human body. The photographs often balance beauty and horror, and she uses humor as an aspect to lighten up darker subjects. Her photographs are a one-woman show, where being in control and the fear of losing it are in a constant dialogue, forming a story about personal growth, where fears are forming into strength.

Artist Statement:

I feel the freest version of myself when I am alone in a room with a camera. Creating self-portraits makes me feel liberated and it helps me to understand my identity and surroundings. It is a way to seek, play, and have fun and as well it is a way for me to hide, isolate and be alone with my thoughts and feelings. When I’m creating my artwork, the camera is an ally who doesn’t judge. It gives me space to get to know myself through art and experiment with my body, mind, and emotions. In my work, I use bright colors to visualize experiences that are difficult to communicate verbally. To clear the mixed thread between strong and mellow, to create clarity to chaos. I mix quirky details with pastel shades, to create an atmosphere where comedy and panic are welcome to meet each other and tell an untold story that gives the viewer many possible endings. My portraits are stories from inside the household, where daily life turns strange and the person we are is in the main spotlight as the one we should learn to love and take care of.