RAM RAM LUDIA – GOODBYE MY VILLAGE

What

Photo-based installation
Long-term documentary project

Helsinki · 2009

How

Seven-part spatial installation
Photography, video, text and documentary film

Notes

A personal documentary project centred on Ludia village and Ramila, whose life Magi followed from childhood into adulthood.

The exhibition tells the story of the village of Ludia and its people, of village leader Sumar Kaka’s family, and of the life of their youngest daughter, Ramila. Ramila was five years old when photographer Magi Viljanen first came to the village. Over the years, Magi became the family’s “white daughter”, returning each year for a time to share their everyday life in Ludia.

Although Magi did not speak their language and was unfamiliar with their culture, she was able to share the joys and sorrows of daily life: the excitement of visits from prospective bridegrooms, the hardship of water shortages, the joy of a newborn calf, the grief of death, and the bittersweet anticipation of an approaching wedding day.

THE EXHIBITION

My approach to the village was personal rather than ethnographic. At the same time, it was important to me that the exhibition remained unmanipulated and grounded in fact.

The exhibition consisted of seven separate parts, forming a journey through different experiences and atmospheres. Some were spatial and experiential installations, while others presented photographs more traditionally. The exhibition also included a documentary film.

RETURNING TO LUDIA

The paired photographs show the same person photographed ten years apart. The large-scale, unmanipulated portraits show the subjects looking directly and seriously into the camera.

What

Photo-based installation
Long-term documentary project

Where

Helsinki, Finland

When

2009

How

Seven-part spatial installation
Photography, video, text and documentary film

Notes

A personal documentary project centred on Ludia village and Ramila, whose life Magi followed from childhood into adulthood.

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