In Jussi Puikkonen’s Pilluralli (a compound of “pussy” and “rally”) we sit down on the backseat of a pink vintage car, put Finnhits on loud on the stereo of the fully pimped vehicle, and go to meet our friends in the streets and the parking lots. The documentary photography project at Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre’s exhibition space explores the Finnish car subculture and the rites of passage of young adults.
Weekend night-time cruising without a destination in old, customised cars decorated with Wunderbaums and fuzzy dice is a Nordic subculture of small towns and rural areas, and a way for young people to build social networks. Driving aimlessly and being together are part of a growing up process where 18-year-olds and older spend time together drinking alcohol and driving their friends to bars and back home. As soon as they get their licence, young people can drive up to 40 000 km in a year – virtually around the world. The drivers may not know each other personally, but they do know and recognise the cars they see on the streets.
Photographer Jussi Puikkonen documented the car culture of young adults of Northern Finland during the lockdown years, photographing the cars packed with audio systems and decorations, their drivers, passengers and the rites of passage associated with buying and customising your first car. Most of the photographs in the exhibition have been shot in Oulu and Rovaniemi. In addition to the photographs, the exhibition features video works and installation objects.
The idealisation of car culture and the perceived freedom it brings is influenced by North American popular culture. In long-distance northern Finland, the automobile is still seen as a symbol of freedom. The first car gives young people the freedom to go further from their homes and get away from the watchful eye of the parents. “Pilluralli” is a strongly Nordic phenomena; there is no similar subculture in Central Europe, for example. It brings together young small-town adults, symbolises independence and rebellion and makes life a little more of an adventure. Much of the aesthetics of the cars are inspired by American car culture, but also by the Swedish raggare subculture and the increasingly popular Japanese JDM Style. The noise pollution and the environmental damage caused by aimless driving are undeniable.
Jussi Puikkonen
Pilluralli
17 June – 10 September 2020
Opening: Friday 16 June at 17:00
