Elina Brotherus

At the heart of Elina Brotherus’ new monograph Carpe Fucking Diem is her series Annonciation. The series addresses a topic still very much a taboo: that of involuntary childlessness. With this work Elina Brotherus returns to the autobiographical documentary she became known for in the late 1990s. We follow her through times of alternating hope and deception, with the intercepting calendar pages showing that yet another year has passed. The Annonciation photographs are preceded by a long prologue and followed by an aftermath emphasizing that life continues. Even a hopeless story with an unhappy end is not The End. Elina Brotherus’ carefully constructed tableau-like self-portraits give way to an observation of the everyday with its surprising and surreal undertones. The book does not explain, judge, comment or teach – it relies entirely on visual storytelling. Through the use of different papers and various graphic styles, this ambitious book takes the spectator on a tactile, visual and emotional ride into the human condition. It gives a voice to a surprisingly large number of women and men whose experience is rarely articulated in art or in life.
Elina Brotherus (b. 1972 in Helsinki) is one of Finland’s most prominent contemporary photographers.