Jussi Puikkonen's 'Cruise' Photographs Finnish Youth Car Culture

Finnish photographer Jussi Puikkonen has spent years documenting the cruising subculture in Finland, resulting in the photobook 'Cruise', published in 2024 by Garret Publications. The project captures young people in small towns and suburbs slowly driving along familiar routes between shopping centers, gas stations, and parking lots. Puikkonen's images focus on the interiors and surroundings of cars rather than movement, highlighting customized vehicles with powerful sound systems and personal decorations that serve as identity extensions. The photographs depict quiet conversations, laughter, waiting, and shared boredom—the ordinary texture of growing up in places with few dedicated youth spaces. The book features portraits of individuals including Valtteri Berg, Aleksi Uusitalo, Jonne Kiviniemi, Rasmus Kerimaa, Michael Lautamäki, Mikko Mäki-Tarkka, Konsta Kiprianoff, Alex Korpi, Tomi Luopakka, and Aatu Virtanen, with locations such as Oulu, Rovaniemi, and Kauhava, Finland.