Schuld

Joel Karppanen:
Schuld

Forthcoming in late 2026

Schuld is the German word for both debt and guilt. This double meaning is the starting point for Joel Karppanen’s new artist book, which brings together family photographs taken by his mother in northern Finland in the 1990s and early 2000s, the artist’s photographs from 2006–2026, and his own debt enforcement documents.

Moving non-linearly between childhood and adulthood, Schuld traces how money shapes everyday life and how debt becomes entangled with memory, care and belonging. Through a hand-assembled montage of snapshots and bureaucratic documents, with references ranging from Jean-Luc Godard to Jackass, the book forms an intimate portrait of class.

The book also features a newly written text by Niko Hallikainen.



Joel Karppanen (b. 1993) is a visual artist, photographer and filmmaker based in Helsinki, Finland. His works has been exhibited internationally at institutions and festivals including Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, PHotoEspaña, KunstHausWien, Lahti Museum of Visual Arts Malva, Fracto Experimental Film Encounter Berlin, and Mänttä Art Festival. His debut book Finnish Pastoral was published in 2018; Schuld is his second book.

Niko Hallikainen (b. 1989) is a performance poet and novelist from Helsinki. His text-based solo performances have premiered, among others, at the Performa Biennial in New York, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki and the Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art. His award-winning books include Kanjoni (2020), Suuri Märkä Salaisuus (2023) and Prima materia (2025).  

Year: 2026
Pages: 168
Edition: 300
Language: English (+ original letters in Finnish only)

ISBN 978-952-7663-03-5
UTU 031