Photo exhibition: The Silent Life of Beaches

The photo exhibition Rantojen hiljaiset – Strändernas tysta liv (The Silent Life of Beaches) highlights a unique natural phenomenon: new archipelago landscapes created by land uplift. Along the northern shores of the Baltic Sea, land uplift constantly creates new land and habitats. This phenomenon transforms bare rocky islands into coastal meadows. Plants thrive where there was once only stone. Some of these areas are even overgrown with forest.

Land uplift is one of the most rapid geological changes in the world. In the Bothnian Bay in particular, it changes the landscape by as much as 90 centimetres each century.
However, the effects of climate change threaten to halt this development. Native species on land uplift shores are at risk of disappearing.

Rantojen hiljaiset – Strändernas tysta liv (The Silent Life of Beaches) explores these species characteristic of the Baltic Sea, how new plants take over the uplifted land, and what changes this brings about. The photos range from detailed plant close-ups to painterly shots of the landscape.

They were taken by Raimo Sundelin, a Rauma-based photographer. He has been documenting the landscapes and vegetation on uplifted shores for over 40 years. The photos are from the book Rantojen hiljaiset – Strändernas tysta liv by Sundelin and biologist Janne Lampolahti. The photographs and text of the book explore plantlife in our archipelago and their changing landscapes.

Languages of the exhibition: Finnish, Swedish, English

Exhibition Hours

On Baltic Sea Day, August 27, from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

June 16–September 30, 2026, Tuesday through Saturday, in accordance with the opening hours of the Yellow House at Lonna, from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Exceptions: The exhibition is closed when the exhibiton building is rented out.

To confirm opening hours:
Ville Wäänänen
General Manager, Island of Lonna
ville@lonna.fi
+358 40 5302783