The Lure of the Image

The exhibition explores contemporary digital forms of photography and their seductive powers: How do images bait or beguile people as they circulate online? How do they compel, capture or control? 

The fourteen artistic positions presented here engage with visual phenomena that serve as vehicles for online communication, criticism and humour, highlighting the crucial role images play in shaping our social, cultural and political landscapes. 

The exhibition invites you to explore the visual worlds of social media feeds, dating app profiles, face filters, memes, ASMR videos, Google Street View photos, emoji, computer-generated imagery and low-resolution screenshots used for conspiracy or protest. 

The artistic positions track the complex mechanisms of the lure, shedding light on how images and their underlying structures – from algorithms to datasets – direct our attention, provoke emotions and influence opinions. 

As such, the works offer contemporary investigations into how images are both embedded within, and actively contribute to, an attention-driven economy – one that fuels desires and thrives on affective reactions.

The Finnish Museum of Photography

9.10.2026-28.2.2027

Tue-Fri 11.00-19.00

Sat-Sun 11.00-18.00

Admission fee 0-16€