When Juha-Pekka Inkinen was younger, he wondered what it would be like to be old. In 1984, he created a series titled I CHING, which refers to the ancient Chinese book of divination, I Ching or Yijing (Book of Changes). A sense of foresight was also present in 1985 when Inkinen took first portraits of his acquaintances. In these images, he sought to capture a gaze into the future, strength, and the rise of a new, better era.

The theme of youth lay dormant for nearly forty years until Inkinen embarked on a journey through time, reconnecting with and photographing his friends once again. Their interaction resumed naturally, just where it had left off in the 1980s. This encounter gave rise to the series My Time, now on display at Hippolyte Korjaamo. “With everyone I photographed, our conversations picked up right where they had ended in the ’80s. The atmosphere was fun and interactive. We were the same people as before, and our chemistry was still there. Thirty-eight years faded away somewhere with a muffled thud,” Inkinen reflects. “This could not have been realised with any medium other than the camera. This is the very essence of photography, and time is my capital—it only grows.”

In his works, Inkinen seeks to make the passage of time visibly concrete. He reflects on how ageing is inevitable, yet at the same time, it can bring new meaning to life. The world is largely built around the idealisation of youth, even though it is equally important to highlight people of different ages and their life paths. In a consumer society, ageing is often associated with a negative connotation.

The artist believes that life constantly offers new and interesting opportunities. At the same time, letting go can also be liberating—as life lightens, responsibilities such as raising children and work obligations diminish. Inkinen sees ageing as something that manifests in different ways: one person looks back on their life with warmth, while another eagerly anticipates the future.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Bokeh Editions will publish Minun aikani, a booklet featuring Inkinen’s portrait pairs, available at the Hippolyte bookshop (Yrjönkatu 8–10).

Juha-Pekka Inkinen (b. 1955, Helsinki) has worked as a photographic artist since graduating from the Lahti Institute of Design in 1986. He began his career with colour photographs of abandoned houses and has since explored other intriguing interior spaces. Currently, he is working with collages that examine different realities. Inkinen has published six books, including Pysäkkiaikakirjat (2021), which focuses on the theme of time. His works have been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Finland and abroad. His art is included in the collections of the Finnish State, the Finnish Museum of Photography, the City of Turku, and the Saastamoinen Foundation.

The exhibition has been supported by Patricia Seppälä Foundation.

Juha-Pekka Inkinen
My Time
28 March – 24 May 2025
Hippolyte Korjaamo
(Töölönkatu 51 A-B, 00250 Helsinki)
Open according to the opening hours of Korjaamo

image: Juha-Pekka Inkinen, Johnny, 1985