Relive the joy of parties and festivals in Jussi Puikkonen’s nostalgic photo series

Shot across Finland, the UK, Netherlands, Spain, Mexico and France, Jussi’s pictures document the aftermath of parties as the human traces are left on the landscape.

Date
9 August 2021

In a time before now (or more accurately, around 18 months ago), being knee-deep in the swampy mud of a festival, trudging along happily to the left-hand-side of the stage was quite a normal occurrence. The same goes for getting dressed up to head out to a rave, a carnival, or a birthday party with all your favourite people, ready to hug and dance into the early hours of the morning. As parts of the world begin to reopen, it’s hard not to think back to the last time you attended a party or a festival; it feels like a distant memory. But these moments can now be relived in the nostalgic photography work of Jussi Puikkonen, who’s documented the aftermath of the experiences we’ve sorely missed throughout the pandemic.

Titled Afterparty, the series focuses on the human traces left on a landscape, shot in a variety of festivals, public events, anniversaries and house parties across Finland, the UK, Netherlands, Spain, Mexico and France. So although you might not be transporting yourself directly into the party through his imagery, you can imagine yourself at the afters instead – waking up to see the once starlit dance floor now covered in litter, smashed bottles and puddles of booze.

Jussi grew up in the woods in Finland, a place so remote that the pipes in his house would freeze in the winter and it would be normal for a moose to turn up at the front porch. “There was not much to do as a kid, but my parents always encouraged me to do visual arts,” he tells It’s Nice That. “So painting and drawing were my favourite things to do in the woods.” Growing older, Jussi fled the woodland nest to Helsinki and, having met a bunch of like-minded people, this is where his creative pursuits really started to kick off. To such lengths that he decided to study photography in a small town called Lahti, and it was here that he started publishing an independent magazine named Kasino A4 with his friends. “Through the publication,” he adds, “I had the chance to do the kind of photography I wanted to do – not what magazines in Finland would commission me to do – and still get the work published.”

Above

Jussi Puikkonen: Afterparty. Mariachi Party (Barra De Nexpa, Mexico) (Copyright © Jussi Puikkonen, 2021)

In 2008, Jussi moved to Amsterdam – which is where he currently resides – and he continued to build on his portfolio of commissions for the likes of The New York Times, Monocle and Financial Times How To Spend It. He’s also released a variety of personal projects too, navigating themes of Finnish folklore through his series Sauna Folk, as well as the diminishing car culture of Northern Finland. And before commencing work on Afterparty, Jussi had published a book named On Vacation with Swiss publisher Edition Patrick Frey. A landscape photography project about Finnish summer destinations during the winter, Jussi sees his work with Afterparty as the sequel. “They are both about spaces that get abandoned for a while before they return back to life,” he notes. “They are also spots where some sort of ritual is performed. In Afterparty, the ritual comes as a form of party.”

Witnessing the fallout of a party is an experience that hits deep with Jussi. As a child, he used to be the first one up in the morning, knowing that his parents were still in bed after a party they’d hosted. The home looked different than it did before, with the usual compositions of a familial dwelling replaced by dirty dishes, leftovers, decorations and funny smells. So when Jussi started taking the pictures for Afterparty, it was a similar feeling; he’d wake up earlier than everyone else, usually around five, and head out with his camera. “But the few people who I met varied between funny, scary and sad. In Glastonbury, I met a couple that had lost their car keys and were still waiting for a spare and camping in their tent amongst the apocalyptic scenery of the festival aftermath. After a Finnish forest rave, I met a guy lurking behind the trees who was still apparently on a trip gone bad.”

Another memory of Jussi’s takes him back to the Mariachi Party, located in Barra De Nexpa, Mexico. The correlating image is of an outdoors setting filled with chairs, tables, a red car and empty bottles canopied amongst the palm trees. At the time of shooting, Jussi was traveling by himself and found he couldn’t sleep one evening, due to the loud and cheerful Mariachi music coming from this party. “Even though my sleep was disturbed, I felt happiness entering the room,” he recalls. “The next morning I woke up early and dug out my Mamiya RZ. In Mexico there is a habit of driving the fanciest car in the middle of a party to lift up the spirit. That Mustang and the plastic chairs made one of the most beautiful sunrises of my life.”

There are many more memories like this to be unearthed throughout Afterparty. And even if you weren’t there yourself, Jussi hopes that these pictures will at least stir up some emotions. “I’m a melancholic mind who likes parties,” he concludes. “I wish I can resonate with people who can see the beauty of things coming to an end.”

Above

Jussi Puikkonen: Afterparty. Forest rave (Mäntyharju, Finland) (Copyright © Jussi Puikkonen, 2021)

Above

Jussi Puikkonen: Afterparty. Queensday (Amsterdam, Netherlands) (Copyright © Jussi Puikkonen, 2021)

Above

Jussi Puikkonen: Afterparty. Bastille Day (Platform for the fireworks, Biarritz, France) (Copyright © Jussi Puikkonen, 2021)

Above

Jussi Puikkonen: Afterparty. Christmas (Jalisco, Mexico) (Copyright © Jussi Puikkonen, 2021)

Above

Jussi Puikkonen: Afterparty. VIP camping, Glastonbury Festival (Glastonbury, United Kingdom) (Copyright © Jussi Puikkonen, 2021)

Above

Jussi Puikkonen: Afterparty. Birthdayparty (Amsterdam, Netherlands) (Copyright © Jussi Puikkonen, 2021)

Above

Jussi Puikkonen: Afterparty. Area Fence, Glastonbury Festival (Glastonbury, United Kingdom) (Copyright © Jussi Puikkonen, 2021)

Above

Jussi Puikkonen: Afterparty. Private Party (Prague, Czech Republic) (Copyright © Jussi Puikkonen, 2021)

Above

Jussi Puikkonen: Afterparty. Queensday (Amsterdam, Netherlands) (Copyright © Jussi Puikkonen, 2021)

Become an Extra Nice Supporter

Unlock an inspiring new way to explore It’s Nice That, get your hands on exclusive perks, and help bring meaningful creative projects to life.

Sign up!

Hero Header

Jussi Puikkonen: Afterparty. Glastonbury Festival (Glastonbury, United Kingdom) (Copyright © Jussi Puikkonen, 2021)

Share Article

About the Author

Ayla Angelos

Ayla is a London-based freelance writer, editor and consultant specialising in art, photography, design and culture. After joining It’s Nice That in 2017 as editorial assistant, she was interim online editor in 2022/2023 and continues to work with us on a freelance basis. She has written for i-D, Dazed, AnOther, WePresent, Port, Elephant and more, and she is also the managing editor of design magazine Anima. 

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.