Studio Prisme Expo Photo Sirkka Liisa Konttinen du collectif Amber iPhone
Life and work
Born in Myllykoski, municipality of Sippola (from 1975 part of the town of Anjalankoski, from 2009 part of the town of Kouvola), Finland in 1948, Konttinen studied photography in London in the 1960s, and cofounded the Amber collective, which moved to Newcastle in 1969.
From 1969 Konttinen lived in Byker, and for seven years photographed and interviewed the residents of this area of terraced houses until her own house was demolished. She continued to work there for some time afterwards. This resulted in the book Byker, which in David Alan Mellor's words "bore witness to her intimate embeddedness in the locality". In 1980 she became the first photographer since the Cultural Revolution to have her work exhibited by the British Council in China.
Konttinen's next project was a study of girls attending dance schools in North Shields, their mothers, and the schools. The book Step by Step came from this. The book influenced Billy Elliot."
Three years of photographing the beach between Seaham and Hartlepool resulted in the series "Coal Coast".
Konttinen later returned to Byker and photographed its new residents in color. She is represented by L. Parker Stephenson Photographs.
Exhibitions
Documents of the North East (with Graham Smith, James Cleet, and Robert Carling). Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1977.
Photographs from the Beaches (with Markéta Luskačová). Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1978.
North Tyneside (with Isabella Jedrzejczyk, Markéta Luskačová and Graham Smith). Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1981.
Byker. Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1983.
Cedarwood Woman. Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1988.
Step by Step. Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1989; touring, 1990, 1992.
The Writing in the Sand. Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1991; touring 1993.
Dream On (with Steve Conlan and Richard Grassick). Side Gallery (Newcastle), 1992.
My Finnish Roots. Side Gallery (Newcastle) and touring, 1993, 1994.
Quayside (with Graham Smith). Side Gallery (Newcastle) and touring, 1993.
Writing in the Sand. Side Gallery (Newcastle), 2000.
Coalfield Stories (group). Side Gallery (Newcastle), 2002–2003.
Prix du Documentaire, Cinéma du Réel, Paris (1992) for the film The Writing in the Sand
On 23 May 2011, Konttinen's photography of the northeast of England from 1969 to 2009, and Amber's related films, became one of twenty items and collections to join the UK Memory of the World Register.
