Juuso Westerlund’s sense of humor is evident in his photographs and the way he presents them, as is his sensitivity to the world’s beauty and imperfections. Westerlund’s images of the peculiar, lackluster venues in which we view animals and experience “nature” are at the same time sad and funny. The scenes pictured, bathed in flat, artificial light, show the embarrassing lack of effort put forth in creating real representations of nature and realistic housing for animals and highlight the grittiness of these arenas.
Other pictures of Westerlund’s are rich and beautiful in a more traditional sense, some of my favorites from a project centered on male friends his age, his two young sons, and his 90-year-old grandfather. The series, In Between, is “an allegory of a man’s longing for childhood and adolescence as he’s nearing middle age. It is about the longing for innocent, care fee and adventurous times. My work tells about growing up and growing old, and about being a father and a man.”
From “Wildlife”
From “Looking for Heroes”
From “In Between”
Visit artist's site: juusowesterlund.com
Posted February 9th, 2015
