On Photographs was a theatre piece that examined photo archives and the descriptive data of collections from the perspective of small gestures and absence. Created by our team member, Emil Santtu Uuttuu, it asked: what is left out? The piece was performed at MadHouse, Helsinki, on 9 and 10.10.2026.
Speaking of the project, dramaturg Uuttuu said: 

I’m seeking a past in the archives of museums and photographic collections that I am still learning to recognise. I look for gestures and styles that differ from the norms in which femininity, masculinity, and relationships were typically depicted in photographs from the turn of the 20th century. My eye searches for something that the very first field cameras and Kodaks failed to capture. Rainbow colours in black and white and sepia images. 

The rehearsal process of this performance differs from our prior working methods. We rehearsed three dialogue scenes and a theatrical exercise briefly on Saturday and Sunday October 3rd and 4th. We will see all the collected material for this piece - the short dialogue texts, the exercise that examines old photographs, three videos, two large photographic prints, a researcher’s presentation and an example of Jussi Ulkuniemi’s photographic practice - all together, for the first time, on Friday October 9th and Saturday October 10th. 

The performances follow the first international conference on the Picture Me: Presenting Queer Visual History research project. This conference, entitled Visual History Now, was held at the University of Tampere 8.-9.10.2026. The presentations in our performance - Rita Paqvalen on Friday and Tuula Juvonen on Saturday - are both borrowed directly from the programme of the conference.

Working group: Jussi Ulkuniemi and Vieno Jarventausta.
Performers: Roy Boswell, Kid Kokko and Sara-Maria Heinonen.
Performance dramaturge: Pipsa Enqvist.
Lectures: Rita Paqvalén and Tuula Juvonen. 
Images (below): Vieno Järventausta