HEIKKI
HUMBERG
Finland
Rooms of Truth
The photographic series Rooms of Truth takes a closer look behind closed doors of police interrogation rooms around Europe. The attempt to reach justice and truth is summarized in these spaces, where people are forced to interact. The rooms are being recorded by several cameras, other that of the photographer. Every gesture is interpreted for the prospect of truth. John Steinbeck wrote: “There’s more beauty in truth, even if it is dreadful beauty.” Upon entering the room, one is greeted by a lonely chair in the corner. The door closes behind. Senses grow sharper, as one observes this space void of people. A slight breeze from an open window clatters the blinds against iron bars. Light flickers through. One could almost call this cozy, but the moment is interrupted by the foreign language of the police in the corridor. The placement of the furniture reflects the subtle difference of power. Hundreds of human fates have passed through these rooms: The boyfriends, the neighbors, the mothers, the lovers, the bosses, the police, the children, the foreigners… The room is a canvas for their stories, and small marks can be found on the surfaces.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Heikki Humberg is a photographer born in 1981 in Kärkölä, Finland. He is currently working on his MA in Photography Studies at Aalto University School of Art, Design and Architecture in Helsinki. Humberg has previously held solo exhibitions in Finland and Ireland and has participated in group exhibitions in Finland and abroad. He has received grants from Arts Promotion Centre Finland, The Paulo Foundation and Frame Contemporary Art Finland. The photographer currently lives and works in Helsinki.