Alexander Komenda, Aalto University, Finland

Tiramisu

The term Tiramisu can be understood as a pick-me-up. This project is a testament to connecting with those closest to our living space – friends, roommates and neighbours, on a dark winter’s night. The subjects provided ideas on where and how to be photographed, casting aside the dictatorial picture-maker; a wolf leading from behind. The result sits somewhere between fact and fiction, implementing a collective imagination that shapes experience, interconnectivity and memory.

The subjects are members of the Chinese student community in Espoo, Finland, aiming at subverting stereotypes and seizing a chance to write their own tale; a chance to reimagine quotidian surroundings, the stairs used weekly to do the laundry, the bed that is slept on, the expressions manifested after a profound statement or an embarrassing instant. Sitting at the common room table, sharing home-cooked meals, placing the mirror uncannily in an attempt to reveal something new.