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Pentti Sammallahti , Finnish, 1950-1950

Title

Seoul, Korea

Date2016

MediumGelatin silver print

Dimensions

20 × 25 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 2019

Object numberNGI.2019.122

DescriptionSammallahti visited Ireland in 1978 and documented his travels around the country with particular interest in people and animals. Unlike many other international photographers visiting Ireland who often look at a particular city, which more often than not is Dublin, Sammallahti photographed in a number of different locations such as Kerry, Cork and Mayo. Sammallahti’s ability to capture the human in relation to their environment and moments that reveal something about how the individual(s) he is photographing is feeling really comes to the fore in the prints of Ireland, particularly in his photographs of pilgrims making their way up Croagh Patrick. In Croagh Patrick, Mayo, Ireland (Pilgrims) we feel both the physical and emotional struggle of the climb on the three men - two are bent over and another (foreground) puts his hand to his face and closes his eyes. We can imagine him taking a few deep breaths and pushing on again. The angle at which the photograph is taken, however, ensures that we, the viewers, know that these men have not been defeated by their physical endeavour- the landscape seems small in comparison to them suggesting that they will at the very least master this particular part of it. Sammallahti often photographs animals and their surrounding environments with a particular emphasis on horses and dogs. This can be seen in both the Irish prints and those taken in Seoul, Korea and Outer Hebrides. Whether, he is capturing a bird in flight in Korea; a local dog wandering the streets of Youghal or horses trotting along the beach in Outer Hebrides, they are all joined together by their ephemeral presence. The location in which they exist is secondary when looked at in this way, which makes it possible to show prints from Inch, Kerry alongside Seoul, Korea.
Exhibition HistoryNew Perspectives. Acquisitions 2011 - 2020, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 11 May - 2 August 2021