My Week: Emma Sarpaniemi

One of Helsinki Design Weekly’s  missions is to support both the local and international design community all year round. The My Week series presents the everyday life of creatives through their own lens. This time, we get a sneak peek into Emma Sarpaniemi´s week.

Emma Sarpaniemi is a photographic artist known for her colourful and playful self-portraits. Although she is based in Helsinki, she spends much of the year abroad on artist residencies. Iceland, in particular, has become a second home, and she returns there every year to hike and walk. This week, she spent time in Sweden, working in a local darkroom and photographing self-portraits for the German magazine SZ-Magazin.

DAY 1

I spent the morning walking around the neighbourhood and stumbled upon a wonderful mushroom-shaped sculpture in the backyard of a residential area. I love having time to wander without a particular plan, letting my steps, senses and intuition guide me. In the afternoon, I spontaneously photographed a self-portrait at the same location for the fashion section of SZ-Magazin.

DAY 2

I visited flea markets and recycling centres in search of props for new self-portraits. I spent most of the day planning the photographs.

DAY 3

It was a rainy day, so I spent half of it reading and writing. I finalised my ideas for the SZ-Magazin shoot, wrote grant applications and attended a webinar.

DAY 4

I photographed the remaining self-portraits for SZ-Magazin. I took the first one alone in my apartment and the second outdoors in the early evening, together with a friend. Photoshoots always give me a lot of energy, and I enjoy sharing these moments with someone close to me. The process is rewarding and reciprocal.

DAY 5

I returned the clothes used for the shoot and took care of a few errands. In the afternoon, I spent time in the darkroom archiving negatives. After an intensive week of photographing, archiving feels meditative and restorative.

DAY 6

Breakfast with friends at a local French bakery, followed by a walk during which I admired the colours of the playgrounds.

DAY 7

Sundays are usually sacred to me — a day of rest — and I prefer not to plan too much. In the morning, I like to take my time drinking coffee, reading and writing. In the afternoon, I spent time in the darkroom making contact sheets from my new photographs, then went out for dinner with friends.