LONELINESS has no age
The photo project “LONELINESS has no age” is a story about noticing – about noticing together. Noticing the person who looks back at us in the mirror in the morning. Noticing the person who is next to us. We are all different, as is our loneliness. There are those who claim that this feeling does not exist and those who look in the mirror in the morning, conjuring up their best smile, grabbing the most suitable mask to be able to roll another working day into the evening. Do we dare to be strong enough to notice this feeling in ourselves? Do we have enough courage to notice the loneliness of a bystander or is it easier to ignore it and remain a passive bystander, because it seems easier that way?
The project is inspired by the “photovoice” method, allowing non-verbal speech – photography, to enter into a dialogue without words to talk about an important topic in society such as loneliness. Raising questions, creating reflections, sharing awareness and looking for solutions.
The photo project “LONELINESS has no age” offers the opportunity to talk about the feeling of loneliness through various photo stories, which is a feeling like any other, with its positive and less positive sides. Encouraging people to talk about it without shame, without judgment, and raising awareness about the feeling of loneliness, in cooperation with mental health specialists from Peaasi.ee. The 12-month traveling photo exhibition traveled through 8 Estonian cities – Tallinn, Narva, Pärnu, Kuressaare, Haapsalu, Rakvere, Viljandi and Tartu. Opening the exhibition on September 10, 2023 – Suicide Prevention Day, and ending the physical journey on August 30, 2024.
One of the goals of the project has been to reach as many people and as far as possible with the treatment of the topic and photo stories, which is enabled by the virtual exhibition www.yksildus.com from October 2024.
In 2025, the photo project will return to the city space physically, bringing the International Loneliness Awareness Week to Estonia for the first time, which will take place from June 9 to 15. The week began in England in 2017 and has been running for 8 years.
This year, in addition to general awareness of loneliness, the focus of the week is also on a very important topic – stigma. The project is primarily based on assessments related to loneliness, but the need to talk about it goes much further.
The project contains 42 photo stories about loneliness, 34 of them from Estonia and 8 from Finland.
The project has been completed in cooperation with the mental health portal Peaasi.ee. LET’S NOTICE AND CARE TOGETHER!
The photo project at Three Trees Gallery is open 24/7 and will stay until September 7, 2025.
