Pääskylä

Outside my window there’s a park with two benches – a spot where people gather for various activities. I shot a year-long project photographing life around the benches. When Covid prevailed, everything came to a halt. During the first lockdown people started meeting, searching for human contact. I was up above, documenting the encounters and situations.

Will our lives be changed after Covid? Will some of us become lookouts for the common good, watching whether people behave by the newly agreed rules? Can we become prisoners in our homes, gazing outwards with hopes of connecting with the outside world?

Pääskylä is an investigation of human behaviour before and during a pandemic. The photos expose our society’s inequality during unexpected times. Not all have the luxury of changing their routines, while others come to the park just to break the boredom. For some reality is always the same.

Rasmus Mäkelä is a Finnish photographer based in Helsinski. He has studied photography at Lahti Institute of Design and Aalto University. These series are featured in the Riga Photomonth projection Life After Covid?, due to premiere on June 30, 10pm.