Biography & CV
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Christoffer Relander (b. 1986, Ekenäs, Finland) is a Finnish fine art photographer whose work explores the boundaries between reality and imagination through in-camera multiple exposures. His imagery — surreal, contemplative, and deeply rooted in the natural world — seeks to articulate what words often cannot: the quiet, layered relationship between humans and the landscapes they inhabit.

Relander grew up in the countryside of Ekenäs, surrounded by fields and rich variations of trees and greenery — a landscape that would come to define the visual foundation of his art. He is particularly drawn to deciduous trees, especially oaks, whose forms recur throughout his work as symbols of time, growth, and resilience.

Art entered his life not through galleries or institutions, but through the streets. Growing up in a family with no connection to the art world, Relander discovered street art during his teenage years — a period when Finland's economic downturn had left a visible mark on the communities around him. In a difficult environment, art became a means of self-expression and, ultimately, a form of personal survival. That early, urgent need to create has never left him.

Street art led Relander to study Graphic Design and Visual Art in Porvoo (2004–2007), and the decisive shift toward photography came during his service in the Finnish Marines in 2008. It was there that he first picked up a camera and recognized the medium through which his artistic voice would fully emerge. He is largely self-taught as a photographer, drawing early inspiration from the multiple exposure work of Charles Swedlund, Harry Callahan, and Man Ray.

Since 2010, the in-camera multiple exposure has been central to Relander's practice. His process is both intuitive and deliberate — a problem-solving exercise in which two or more images are layered within the camera to produce a single, unified composition. He describes his approach as closer to composing keywords than writing sentences: each image distills a state of mind, a memory, or a feeling into its most essential visual form. If his work were music, he says, it would be instrumental.

Relander has worked primarily with Nikon cameras since 2010, alongside medium format film with a Mamiya RB67 Pro and, more recently, the compact Ricoh GR III for his ongoing Doubled Days project. While the foundation of his technique remains in-camera, his process has evolved over the years to occasionally incorporate digital methods. Regardless of the tools, his intent remains the same: to create imagery that feels timeless and open to interpretation. He often keeps his subjects anonymous — faces obscured or turned away — believing that ambiguity invites the viewer to project their own memories and emotions onto the work.

Themes of childhood, nature, and memory run through nearly all of Relander's projects. As a father of two daughters, the experience of parenthood has deepened and renewed his connection to these subjects. Watching his children discover the natural world has become a mirror to his own past, drawing him back to the wonder and curiosity he felt as a child in the Finnish countryside. This is perhaps most evident in the ongoing We Are Nature series, where portraits of his children are merged with the landscapes that surround them — an intimate exploration of the bond between human beings and the environments that shape them.

Among his best-known projects, Jarred & Displaced captures landscapes seemingly contained within glass jars — a tribute to childhood memories of collecting insects, plants, and stones, and a meditation on nostalgia and our changing relationship with the natural world. Doubled Days, an ongoing daily project shot with a compact Ricoh GR III, embraces spontaneity and imperfection, functioning as a raw visual diary of everyday life seen through layered exposures.

Relander has had a connection to the Åland Islands since childhood, when he spent his summers there visiting his great-grandmother. Today he lives and works on the island, with his studio based in Mariehamn.

If you are interested in discussing a commissioned project or collaboration, feel free to get in touch.

SELECTED CREDITS

Solo Exhibitions (selected) Alternature, Xposure Festival, Sharjah, UAE (2026) · Alternature, Ålands Konstmuseum, Åland Islands (2024) · Alternative Futures, SEE Institute, Dubai (2023) · Symbiosis, Galleri Perspektivet, Ekenäs (2022) · Symbiosis, Nordic Cultural Institute, Åland Islands (2021) · Neonland, Konst & Form, Finland (2019) · Jarred & Displaced, Anderson Gallery, USA (2017) · Finnish Cultural Institute, Madrid & Lisbon (2017) · Galleri GEO, Bergen, Norway (2017)

Group Exhibitions (selected) Beijing International Art Biennale, National Art Museum of China (2022) · XXIX International Nude Art Exhibition, Museum of New Art, Estonia (2022) · Simple Tones & In The Garden, Muriel Guépin Gallery, New York (2020)

Awards & Nominations Postis Konstpris (2023) · Asiago International Award for Philatelic Art · PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, Gold · IPA International Photography Awards, Gold · Cream Midlands Best Photography Prize, Silver · Pro Arte Award nomination, Didrichsen Art Museum

Collections Åland Art Museum · Museum of New Art, Estonia · Stiftelsen Pro Artibus · Raseborgs Stad · Nordic Institute on Åland · Private collections in the USA, Europe, and Asia

Press (selected) The Guardian · LA Times · Wired · VICE · Oprah Daily · Colossal · Hi-Fructose · Juxtapoz · Nikon Pro Magazine · China Daily

Clients (selected) Adobe · Nikon · Oxford University Press · SES Satellites · Reda 1865 · Silverstein & Partners · Havas 360 · WeTransfer