Powerful Pictures

Powerful Pictures brings together art posters promoting road safety. The exhibition features dozens of posters ranging from the 1940s to the present day.

Imagine having to persuade someone to change their bad habits, to do better, or to become more aware of others. Words and information have their power—but the impact of images is even stronger. Throughout human history, images have been used to tell stories, document events, warn, and manipulate. With industrialisation, the power of propaganda messages was combined with dramatic imagery, reproduced in the form of posters.

The Traffic Section of the Accident Prevention Association and later its successor, Liikenneturva – Finnish Road Safety Council, recognised the power of images early on. After the wars, Finland underwent rapid technological and industrial change, and every lost working life was a significant loss. Growing motorisation and the explosive increase in traffic created problems and tragedies on an entirely new scale. These were tackled through the work of leading advertising graphic designers, whose posters appealed strongly to viewers’ emotions—at times even in macabre ways.

Topical themes included drunk driving, speeding, the condition of vehicles and tyres, and soon also the use of seat belts. These were familiar, everyday issues—but people needed to be shaken into recognising them.

Over time, stark contrasts and emphatic symbolism were complemented by campaigns that used positive emotions and empathy, communicating with a friendlier visual language.

Powerful Pictures at Lossisali in Mobilia until the end of 2026.

Image:
“There is a helmet for cyclists too.” Finnish Road Safety Council’s campaign poster.
From the collection of Finnish Road Safety Council / Mobilia