This is the story of the tiny Estonian island of Kihnu. A six-square-mile island in the Baltic Sea, Kihnu is frequently described as Europe’s last matriarchy. In almost every article I’d read about it, I saw images of women dancing in red patterned skirts and headscarves, of gritty elder women sitting in near-abandoned houses surrounded by memories and dust, and of women tearing through sandy lanes criss-crossing this small Baltic landscape astride Soviet motorbikes and sidecars. As a photographer drawn to documenting women, I was transfixed by these stories, so off I went.

But what I found on Kihnu was instead a rich and complicated reality. The folk culture is real, but so too are the skills that supply food long after the tourists have left, and all sorts of engines, not just motorbikes, can be maintained. Tourism is vital and welcomed, but it also risks turning traditions into performance. The island is aging, yet the older population of Kihnu has itself become part of the myth of the island. And the men aren’t absent, they’re just not photographed. When they stepped into the frame, they lit up, grateful to be seen, while the women seemed tired of the constant attention they got. 

Read the full article on https://www.glpfilms.com/news/beyond-the-frame