Probable Cause
On the 3rd of January 2012, as she was passing a crosswalk on her way home in Helsinki, my sister was killed by a repeat drunk driver in a hit-and-run. In that instant, the lives of me and my family were cut into a before and an after. While we were dealing with loss, the crash was investigated heavily by police and its aftermath covered by the Finnish media. In the tabloids and evening news broadcasts that followed, everyone from government ministers to passers-by were given the opportunity to show their dismay in condemning the perpetrator with 6 prior DUI convictions. 12 years later, no political or social changes have been enacted.
While the police investigated minute details such as crash simulations, media narratives reduced the case to a persona-driven drama between an innocent victim and a malignant perpetrator. While reading the police report by chance in 2018, I found sudden understanding towards the perpetrator Jani, a 25-year old metalsmith with two children and a long struggle with alcoholism.
Probable Cause is a documentary that attempts to understand the social circumstances of addiction that surround my sisters death. By combining archival research, re-enactment and different forms of photography, the project builds a polyphonic narrative of the perpetrator on the day of the crash.
Through archival research I have collected visual and textual materials from the case, such as 13 news broadcasts, over 40 news articles and the police report with eye-witness accounts and police photographs. Based on this research, I have re-staged and re-enacted events that were left without visual representation. At times I have worked with original eye witnesses who re-enact scenes for my camera, while other images are made in collaboration with actors.
The book reflects on the public image of alcoholism and the social perception addiction by reshaping the emotion-driven media narratives of the time. By combining an array of textual and photographic materials from different sources, speculation and doubt begin to act as starting points for a deeper understanding between alcoholism, neglect and a violent crime.
Henri Airo (1996) is a visual artist, educator and art worker based in Helsinki. In his artistic practice Airo relates to different social phenomena through documentary narratives. Airo’s work has been exhibited widely at institutions and festivals such as Krakow Photomonth (2019), Amos Rex (2020), PhMuseum LAB (2022) and Helsinki Kunsthalle (2025). He has received multiple international recognitions, such as the PhMuseum Criticae Prize (2022), Kunsthalle Seinäjoki Summer Artist Commission (2024) and the Encontros da Imagem Photobook Award (2025). Along with his personal artistic practice, Airo has served as the Artistic Director of Utopias Lahti Festival since 2020.
