On November 30 2009, it was 70 years since the outbreak of the Winter War.
Finnish war veteran Aarne Körkkö tells: "We had been fighting for two months, and we were dirty as hell and our clothes were in tatters. Then along came the Swedish troops, the ‘gentlemen', who were stylishly dressed in white. The officers had white fur coats."
The Swedish fashion photographer JENNY LEXANDER (b. 1976) has photographed Finnish and Swedish war veterans and the freezing winter landscapes where the combat took place.
One of the veterans photographed is Lexander's grandfather. Jenny Lexander has always wondered the silence around the war issues. The exhibition particularly wants to tell the younger generation about the historical significance of the Winter War, Continuation War and Lapland War for Finland and Sweden, and thus increase awareness of the shared history of the Nordic countries.
Chairman of Disabled war veterans association of Finland Juhani Saari has opened the exhibition.
The SISU exhibition is a collaboration between the photographer Jenny Lexander and AD Susanna Knyphausen. The producer is Johanna Suo, founder of Innovation Culture Europe (ICE). The main goal of Ice is to increase understanding between European nations through art and cultural projects. www.ice-eu.net
