Niko Luoma

Helsinki School photographer Niko Luoma considers light the primary material in his abstract analogue photographs that marry geometry, symmetry, and chaos. “I am fascinated by the fact that this process leaves nothing behind—no debris, no ruin—just an exposed negative,” he says of working only with light and light-sensitive materials. Attuned to the subtle differences between “chronos” and “kairos,” the respective Ancient Greek terms for sequential time and an opportune moment, Luoma also considers time an important element in his work. For example, in “Kairos”, a 2006 series inspired by life’s unexpected revelatory moments, Luoma layered multiple exposures on single prints, introducing the element of chance and distancing himself from the idea of photography as a representational medium. Similarly, in the “Symmetrium” series (2009-12) time reveals the process through thousands of exposures on a single negative.