Juhani Seppovaara

Gallinarium is a small publishing house I started in Finland in 2014. The first book released by Gallinarium is called Sights of a Life (Elämän kortit). It will also be published in German in the fall of 2014 with the title Ansichten eines Lebens. Books can be ordered from me: juhani.seppovaara (at) kolumbus.fi

Sights of a Life (Elämän kortit / Ansichten eines Lebens) owes its genesis to a collection of about two thousand picture postcards that turned out to be a cultural, historical, and visual treasure. The cards illustrate the story of a family from Helsinki over the course of more than a century.

Juha, who finds his aunt’s collection, sees in it a mosaic of his memories. He supplements her collection with postcards received from friends, collectors, the Paletti Company, and the Finnish Postal Museum.

The picture postcards became the impetus for their transformation into stories reflecting the story of Juha’s life. The roughly two hundred cards that made their way into the book also tell their own stories. A puzzle of cards and narratives present Finland and the Europe of a man born in 1947 - as well as the man himself.

Juhani Seppovaara is a writer and photographer. Sights of a Life is his 20th book. Most of his work deals with traditional building culture.

Seppovaara formerly worked as economist for the Finnish Central Bank and as manager of a small chicken farm. He alternates between his residences in Berlin and Kirkkonummi.

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