Transcendent Country of the Mind is a project exploring my encounters with alternative dimensions of reality and perceptions of otherworldly signs around us. It tells the story of a world that lives at the back of our minds.
In my early twenties, I experimented with LSD regularly and excessively, and eventually experienced an extended psychotic episode, which had serious consequences on my own life, but also profoundly changed the way I perceive the world and reality itself. During this time, I threw away all my worldly possessions; I confronted the demons of Hell and was shown the wonders of Heaven; I travelled through time and space; I peeked behind the curtain of this dimension and – even today, having fully recovered – my understanding of reality has changed forever. These photographs represent this perspective and offer others similar glimpses to what I found behind the curtain.
About the Artist
Artist WebsiteSari Soininen (b.1991, Raisio) is a Finnish photographer based in Bristol, United Kingdom.
Her colourful otherworldly photography draws from philosophical thoughts and personal mystical experiences. Her interest is in providing the viewer alternative ways of seeing the reality and world around us.
Sari holds BA in photography from Lahti Institute of Design (2014), carried out exchange studies in Edinburgh College of Art (2013) and is currently studying MA Photography at UWE Bristol.
After carrying out her BA degree Sari pursued a career in graphic design, animation and event photography. In 2019 she decided to get back into contemporary photography and started her MA degree.
Sari is an emerging artist, with her latest work published in Loupe Magazine and her Self Portrait being shortlisted for the 2021 British Photography Awards. She is currently working on a book that she hopes to be published in 2021.