The Unheard

“The Unheard“/2026

Photo series/graphics/collage

I grew up in Karelia, where the Kalevala epic was part of everyday memory. But women’s voices were always muffled—on the periphery of the narrative, like a backdrop to men’s exploits. Their pain, loss, and lack of choice were inscribed in the canon, but unheard. 

This project is my return to the epic with a different perspective. I enter it not to illustrate runes, but to intervene: to reveal the repressed—pain that went unnoticed, choice that was not given, the body turned into a background. 

The series is built on the layering of photography, lithography, collage, and monotype. Each image is like a wound that I re-bandage, shifting emphasis and disrupting the usual hierarchy of views. 

“The Unheard” is an attempt to cut through the canon and allow female figures to emerge from the shadows. These stories are not only about myth. They reflect the experiences of women whose voices exist within the system but remain on its edge.