Photographe • Finland
As a women explorer I hope to captivate glimpses of this Arctic beauty in my photographs and raise public awareness of the fragile polar regions
Tiina Itkonen has travelled regularly to Greenland to photograph the polar landscape and its people since 1995. She has traveled more than 1 500 kilometers along the west coast of Greenland by dogsled, fishing scow, sailboat, helicopter, small plane, cargo ship and oil tanker and along the way spending time in small villages and coming to know the Greenlandic people. Tiina Itkonen´s work has been exhibited at many international venues.
My name is Tiina Itkonen and I am a photographer based in Helsinki, Finland. I have been documenting Greenland and its inhabitants through my camera since 1995. My work focuses on the relationship between man and the environment in the remote regions of the Arctic.
In my recent project I have been documenting the traditional life of the Inuit hunters and their families in East and North Greenland to understand how it is affected by climate change. The project is a collaboration with a polar scientist Kristin Laidre and a writer Susan McGrath.
I have traveled more than 1 500 kilometers along the west coast of Greenland by dogsled, fishing scow, sailboat, helicopter, small plane, cargo ship and oil tanker and along the way staying in small villages and coming to know the Inuit people.
I am fascinated by this northern place, its people and their way of life. Inuit live in harmony with nature and they know how to exist in cold climate. Their relationship with the environment gives them a wide understanding of animals and nature.
The nature in Greenland is very unique. 80% of Greenland is covered by ice. There are glaciers coming down from the ice sheet and lot of icebergs, sizes of block of flats. When travelling by boat or dog sled I have seen seals, whales and polar bears.
