Knife fights, drunkenness, saunas and Moomin trolls.
These are clichés that most people with Finnish roots encounter when they talk about their origins.
But instead of breaking the stereotypes, Sanna Laakso chooses to embrace them.
- Some people don't like it at all.
It is often the older generation that has worked actively to get rid of, for example, the knife stereotype, and then I come as a young girl and pull it out again.
What do you tell them?
- I say: Tell me more.
And yet I can understand them.
But it's about making these symbols harmless.
Raised in Emmaboda
Sanna grew up in Emmaboda with two Finnish-speaking parents.
Father Pekka, who is a knife maker and also exhibits his knives in the same exhibition, came to Emmaboda as an eight-year-old as the son of labor immigrants and for several years ran the Finnish association in the town.
But finding like-minded people as a child, when you have a minority language as your mother tongue, has not always been easy, says Sanna.
- When I grew up, my best friends were grandma and grandpa.
Today I have a lot of Swedish-Finnish friends around Sweden and we have the same upbringing.
It's absolutely amazing to be able to share it with others of the same age.
Attention of the Finnish Embassy
For several years, Sanna has hosted the minority radio program Popula in P4 and was named the young Swede of the year 2020.
The exhibition in Emmaboda has already received national attention, including from the Finnish Embassy.
The exhibition at Emmaboda library is on display until January 27.