BIOGRAPHY
Jussi Ulkuniemi (he/they) is a Helsinki based dancer, choreographer and photographer, born in Oulu, Finland, in 1992. They graduated from Upper Secondary School with arts and drama diplomas in 2011. Straight after finishing the studies Jussi began exploring photography and started entrepreneuring a couple of years later. Their photography got wind under its sails and he attained visibility in Instagram over the course of years through a distinct visual style in landscape and fine art photography. Through social media, (instagram @skwii) Jussi has worked all around the world, with highlights such as collaborations with Olympus camera brand in Iceland and Italy and a project with Ford Motor Company in New York.
After many years of social media and branding as his focus, Jussi’s interests and values began to shift rapidly. They began studying documentary-style photography in Lahti Institute of Design and Fine Arts in 2013- but soon dropped out to follow a passion in dance and choreography. They started studying in Outokumpu Vocational School’s Dance and Movement Research studies, from where he directly continued to study towards a BA in Dance and Performance at the Theatre Academy, University of Arts in Helsinki, Finland. During university studies, Jussi took an erasmus+ exchange year in the Inter-University Center For Dance in Berlin (HZT). They graduated in May 2021.
Today, Jussi Ulkuniemi is focusing on working as a multidisciplinary artist. In their personal works as a dancer Jussi Ulkuniemi has worked on multiple projects, like Jyrki Karttunen’s “Digital Duende” at Tanssin Talo (2023), Kauri Sorvari’s “labia” (2023-2024) and Kaaos Company’s “Toro Törö” (2023-2024). Their personal choreography work explores queer identity and touch-based practises. Jussi’s new solo, “Glimmering” (working title) will be part of Zodiak, Centre of New Dance’s “Zodiak laboratory” program in 2025.
In photography Jussi’s focus is in innovative ways to do portraiture, to relate and give a voice to the subject on the other side of the lense. In 2020, Jussi combined photography and body awareness methods in community art project “Yhtä Matkaa”. The project focuses on discussing the experience of nearing death and its effects to the individual through dialogues with palliative care workers, patients and their relatives. In 2022, Jussi started working on “Textures of Queer Intimacy”, a photography project around queer intimacies, non-normative bodies and expressions of love and sexuality. – the longterm project is set to premier in 2026.