Silent killer - Photographer Saara Tuominen

Mold is a catastrophe that grows quietly over time. People believe mold makes them sick, and some have to move from place to place to heal their symptoms. Mari Vesala, Marita Vaan and Mika Tolonen have all lost their homes and health, and they belive that mold is to blame.

There is no denying that mold is a problem in Finland. Schools are shutting down, prisoners are moved around. A report made for the Finnish Parliament in 2012 states that as much as 18 percent of schools are severely damaged by mold and moisture. Mold Refugees Association estimates that almost a fifth of the Finnish population is subject to dangerous inside air.

An increasing amount of Finnish people are searching for help for their symptoms. Research has not been able to find a physiological mechanism that would explain a connection between their symptoms and mold. There is no practice to clinically test the sickness and there is no official diagnosis either.

Real or not, mold sickness has sever consequences for the lives of people affected.

This project was made in 2019 as part of Nest-magazine during my studies at DMJX.

Mari Vesala is trying to air the smell of mold off her things. She has moved more than 120 times in the last two years.

Marita Vaan is worried that she will never get the mold out her her heritage christening dress that has all the family members embroidered on.

Marita Vaan found her dream house two years ago. Then her family started to get sick.

Marita Vaan's old house is now empty. A mold inspector dog marked every room of the house and every corner of her child's bedroom.

Mika Tolonen thinks he is on the track to recover from his symptoms, but still he only drinks spring water and even bathes in it.

Mari Vesala has lost everything since getting sick. ”People say that I choose to be afraid of living, but I have not chosen this for myself”, Mari says. ”I would saw my own legs off if it would improve my situation.”

Three things that Mari has kept from her old house. These objects are photographed at Mari's friends house. The friend tells me that she is keeping them safe so that they are waiting for Mari once she is healthy enough to hold them again.

Mika Tolonen rented a cabin in the woods and ran away from sivilization when he was feeling so sick that he thought he was going insane. He thinks that the clean air in the forest saved his life.

In his cabin Mika used to sleep on the floor.

When Mika was at his sickest, the most painful thing was that he was unable to feel love for his family.

Mika lives in Lapua. His dream is to fund a sanatorium for people who are battling mold sickness.

No one knows for sure where this sickness will lead to. Mari suspects that it is too late for her to ever fully recover, but Mika is hopeful. Maybe Marita’s kids will survive with a scare. But the trauma of losing a home overnight is one that might follow them all to the end.

Next – We dreamed that the world had ended