New Yorkin lehmät: lajin palauttaminen (valokuvaprojekti, 2000)
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Cows in New York City: Reintroducing the Species (photo project, 2000; for a detailed description of the project scroll down)

2nd Avenue, East Harlem. NY, NY
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Avenue D, East Village. NY, NY
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Vaikka aloitin kuvaamisen Staten Islandilla, olin utelias tietämään New York Cityn muiden alueiden eli Manhattanin, Brooklynin, Queensin ja Bronxin maatalousmenneisyydestä. Tutkin vanhoja karttoja ja valokuvia seuraavissa paikoissa: Staten Island Institute, Staten Island Historical Society, Museum of the City of New York, The Bronx Historical Society, Long Island Division of the Queens Borough Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library. Vanhoja ja tämänhetkisiä karttoja vertaamalla löysin kohdat, joissa farmeja ja laitumia oli ollut. Kuvasin nimenomaan näissä paikoissa.

Tärkeässä osassa kuvissani ovat kuvauspaikat ja niissä tapahtuneet ja tapahtuvat muutokset. Minua kiinnostaa se, millä lailla ympäristömme muuttuu. Sama prosessi on näkyvissä Suomessakin - yhtä lailla olisin voinut tehdä valokuvasarjan Suomen nopeasta kaupungistumisesta ja teollistumisesta.
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Flatbush Avenue, Flatbush. Brooklyn, NY
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On a visit to New York some years ago I explored the history of the metropolitan area. I heard that there still were cattle on Staten Island as recently as some decades ago. I was inspired to make a project about the development that has occurred; to trace if there are some signs left of the numerous farms and pastures.

In order to find the places where the farms used to be, I researched the archives of the Staten Island Institute, Staten Island Historical Society, Museum of the City of New York, The Bronx Historical Society, Long Island Division of the Queens Borough Public Library, and the Brooklyn Public Library. Old maps and photographs were a useful resource. Comparing 19th and early 20th century maps, and even older ones, with current maps showed the way that farmland has become residential areas.
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East Broadway, Chinatown. NY, NY
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Cows in New York City? Cows are an integral part of our lives, though we seldom think about it. Milk, cheese and meat are basic foods. Leather. A cow as an animal is also highly symbolic. In my sculpture, installations and photography I have used cow horns, bones and teeth as materials. The starting point of many of my works is the relationship between people and domestic animals in all its multi-faceted extent. In cities animals represent nature in a domesticated form.
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East 9th Street, East Village. NY NY
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For this project realized in 2000 I took cows back to the places that used to be farms or grazing land - in the 17th century or as recently as a few decades ago. My exhibit consists of 78.5 x 100 cm colour photos of these places. I made cows out of old blankets which I bought at thrift stores. The blankets represent home and warmth. They also bring an element of humour: black and red plaid "cow skin rugs" look comical. And, at the same time disturbing - something from a private realm brought into a public space. The herd of blanket cows is homeless and displaced in an urban environment. The surroundings are an important element in my photos, often in a state of flux.

I am fascinated by the way the suburb spreads. The expanding metropolitan area needs more and more land to meet the need for housing. All available land is taken into use - even areas which were previously considered wasteland.
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Forest Avenue, Port Richmond. Staten Island, NY
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Avenue D, East Village. NY, NY
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Division Street, Chinatown. NY, NY
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Quincy Street. Staten Island, NY

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