Juha Metso (Finland) photography project LOST ISLANDS
at the Museum of New Art
07.11.2026-10.01.2027
opening on 6 November at 16:00
Videos and photographs from the outer islands of the Gulf of Finland
In the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland lie four old Finnish islands: Suursaari, Tütarsaari, Lavansaari and Seiskari.
The islands, especially Suursaar, have taken on renewed significance, as Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has also increased tensions in the Baltic Sea.
The islands, which belong to Russia, can no longer be visited.
The exhibition contains unique photographic and video material about the islands lost to the Soviet Union in the Winter War, their nature and present-day inhabitants, and describes the traces the Finns once left behind there.
Photographer Juha Metso visited Suursaar seven times between 1999 and 2019, and the other outer islands once.
Their photographs have preserved what remains on the islands for future generations to see.
“Our aim is to bring the old Finnish islands back into the consciousness of Finns and Estonians,” says the exhibition’s curator, Marjo Näkki.
The exhibition LOST ISLANDS presents unique photographic and video material.
The short films feature islanders and their descendants. The photo collages include old archive photographs.
The result is a unique and dramatic exhibition that tells the story of the islands and, above all, of longing.
Stories and memories connect people with their roots. Above it all soars the white-tailed eagle, which is a central part of the exhibition.
“The white-tailed eagle symbolises continuity. Nature wins in the end, no matter who is in power,” says photographer Juha Metso.
Even before the wars, a Finnish archipelago culture flourished on the islands. Life was drawn from the sea. The islanders engaged in friendship trade with Estonians.
Suursaar was a popular tourist destination, visited in summer by artists and writers as well. Shortly before the Winter War, the islands’ civilian population was evacuated. The evacuation became permanent when Finland lost the islands to the Soviet Union.
The exhibition consists of large video images, smaller video screens on which people who lived on the islands share their memories, and archive material from both the Finnish and Estonian sides. It also includes Juha Metso’s photographs from Suursaar.
With thanks to: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, City of Pärnu, Art Museum of Estonia, Estonian Maritime Museum.