Known for his experiments in photographic abstraction, Niko Luoma built his career on using photography as a tool for conceptual thinking. Inspired by the work of Harry Callahan, he uses the practice of taking photographs as a means of measuring and collecting time. His method involves a meticulous analog technique, in which he combines multiple exposures on the same photo negative, building up the image layer by layer, using cut-out templates as a means of blocking and redirecting light through a series of standard color lenses. Influenced by the experimental music of John Coltrane and Alvin Lucier, he incorporates the properties of chance into the process, using it as fuel to enhance his attraction to the unknown.

Niko Luoma (*1970 in Helsinki) studied at the New England School of Photography, Boston (1995) and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1998), before graduating from Aalto University in 2003, where he has been teaching ever since. Luoma’s works are in numerous collections, such as the Sir Elton John Collection at V&A South Kensington (London), Borusan Contemporary (Istanbul), and the European Central Bank Art Collection. His works have been exhibited worldwide at institutions such as Weserburg Museum of Modern Art (Bremen, DE), EMMA (Espoo, FI), Landskrona Museum (SE), the Stenersen Museum (Oslo), and the Finnish Museum of Photography (Helsinki). Luoma lives and works between Helsinki and Trieste, Italy.