When I took these photographs in 2020 at the #blacklivesmatter protest in Tampere, Finland I did not know they will became an important document for the history of Finland.
I was contacted by Nathi Sihlophe (Author and Curator) to send some of my images from the BLM protest in Tampere, Finland to be part of BLM - No Justice, No Peace Photo Book. Nathi found my work on Instagram and contacted me directly. I was happy and proud to be part of such project.
The BLM book is now archived at Museovirasto - Finnish Heritage Agency (Heritage Museum, Helsinki, Finland).
A little girl wondering around an angry mass of people. She is tiny and adorable, yet strong and serious. I liked her vigourosness. She was moving a lot and dancing and screaming. It caught my eye. I though to myself: 'A child like her should play and feel safe in her community. However, she was there, fighting for justice with eagerness.'
I asked her if I can photograph her. She immediately accepted, but asked for 10 seconds to prepare. She put her mask, chose her pose and looked directly at me. I liked her attitude: bold, strong and straight. You can almost feel her essence from the photograph.
The mother was taking a picture of the father and their boy. The boy was just mimicking the scream. I found the silent scream interesting so I decided to shoot that moment. The young boy's Angri Birds T-Shirt is also an important contributor to the whole story.
