I’m Niko Suvisto (b. 1991), a Finnish photographer living with the severe chronic neuro-immunological illness myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS). I’ve been sick for over a decade, and since 2022 the disease has left me almost completely bedbound — dependent on my mother’s full-time care.
Initially, I wanted to document others living with this life-destroying illness, but being too ill to do so, I had no choice but to turn the camera on myself. Despite having a disease that literally strips you of energy, I use whatever I have left to make images of my life — testaments to what I must endure.
My work is now solely dedicated to ME/CFS, in the hope of raising awareness of an underfunded and highly stigmatised illness. If you know of ways to help, please get in touch!
Contact
Email: nikosuvisto@gmail.com
Bluesky: @nikosuvisto.com
Foto: @nikosuvisto
Instagram: @nikosuvisto
Exhibitions
2025
In the Absence of Light — online exhibition at A Quiet Storm, August 2025
(un)sichtbar — group exhibition for ME/CFS Awareness Week, Frankfurt, Germany, May 2025
Enduring: Life with Severe ME/CFS — online exhibition at A Quiet Storm, April 2025
Features & Interviews
2025
Patient Caregiver Artist Coalition (PCAC) — Niko Suvisto on Photography as Survival through ME/CFS, December 2025
Media Appearances
I’ve shared my story in some of the biggest Finnish news outlets. They are in Finnish, but browsers should be able to translate them for those who are interested.
2025
Iltalehti — Niko, 34, on elänyt sängyssä vuosia – Nyt mitta tuli täyteen, December 2025 (features my photographs)
2023
MTV Uutiset — Niko, 32, elää sängyn omana, käy vessassakin vain kolmesti viikossa: "Minut nähdään eläkeyhtiössäni täysin työkykyisenä”, December 2023
Iltalehti — Edellisenä päivänä Nikoa, 32, huimasi työpaikalla – Seuraava olikin viimeinen: ”99,9 prosenttisesti vuodepotilaaksi”, November 2023