Laura Konttinen
And When the Third Day Was at Its Most Beautiful
24 July–17 August 2025
“And When the Third Day Was at Its Most Beautiful” is an experimental stop motion animation about the transformation of an old photograph in a post-memory afterlife.
“A few years ago, I came into possession of an unknown person’s photo album from the early 1900s. Next to a seemingly uninteresting photo, the owner had written: ‘And when the third day was at its most beautiful…’ The page of the album, now empty of its original memories, offered a framework for a story in which imagination and the subconscious get to run wild.
In the animation, the old photograph drifts into an unknown world. It transforms into a silvery substance that washes ashore on a mysterious island and wanders through peculiar landscapes, constantly changing its form. During its three-day journey, it encounters the singing Great Shell, the Crocodile Twins guarding the gate of oblivion, and finally, the Bird of Death bringing a message that it is time to let go, that the memory process has come to an end.
I created the script for the animation using the method of active imagination. When you close your eyes and persistently try to hold on to a mental image, it will eventually start to shift and flow into an uncontrollable stream of pictures, events and symbols. The creation of the work was guided by my fondness for slow multimedia working method centered around crafting. Crafting is like magical play – imagining things with your hands, seizing and understanding the world and its invisible parts.”
Laura Konttinen (b. 1987, Säynätsalo) is a Helsinki-based visual artist. In her works, she explores the anatomy of nostalgia and memory through photography, collage and video. In recent years, Konttinen’s works have been on display at several exhibitions in Finland, for example at the Finnish Museum of Photography and Kunsthalle Turku, as well as abroad, including Denmark, England and Croatia. She holds a Master of Arts degree from Aalto University’s master’s program in photography (2020) and a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the Tampere University of Applied Sciences (2010).
Thank you
The artist’s work has been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Alfred Kordelin Foundation, Tohmajärvi Artist Residence, Örön Residenssikeskus ry and Ålands kulturdelegation.
The photo album was donated to the artist by Helsingin Invalidien Yhdistys ry.
Contact information
www.laurakonttinen.net
laura.konttinen (a) gmail.com
Instagram: @laurakonttinen
