Denise Bellon

The Helsinki Jugendsali is hosting an exhibit of photographs taken in Finland in August of 1939 by Denise Bellon for the French magazine Le Match until the 28th of March. Her photos of people preparing for war and living life in Finland are a lovely time capsule of a particular moment in history focusing less on the military aspects of the run up to war than on the more ordinary daily life which invariably continues even under duress. There are photos of a ski factory, Finnish women in fashionable war uniforms, the olympic stadium under construction which came to a halt for the war, and children amidst those of soldiers on foot, bicycle and horseback waiting for something to happen. There are also a few photos taken outside of Finland, most notably of Salvador Dalí which is the least surreal portrait of him I've ever seen. Bellon has a keen eye for capturing something special in her subjects and telling a story with them. Photographs like these are particularly precious for historians. The Art Deco Jugendsali was also worth seeing as I hadn't ever been inside of the beautifully restored building.