Fredrik Larsson
Jói Kjartans
Jon Wang
Kirsten Opstad
Kristine Wathne
Rebecca Ravneberg
Runa Amanda
Sabina Jacobsson
Tor Simen Ulstein
Self
64°N
Cathedral
Everyday photography
Driving Drivers
A delicate wind of light
Den tørre humla i vinduskarmen // The Dried Bumblebee by the Window
The essence of my creation is curiosity
Asphalt is what I am dreaming of
Credit: Jói Kjartans
ISSUE 03
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Issue 03
Jói Kjartans
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The biggest pro and con of living in Reykjavík is that nothing ever happens. And that is what these photographs deal with; life in Reykjavík. The photos capture what almost can’t be described as happening. They depict mundane adventures without a beginning or an end. What hardly took place. Hardly takes place. But perhaps we are somewhere between the asphalt and the grass. It depends on from where, towards where, and in particular, how we look at them.
His photos reveal his determined conviction that everything matters. That everything is not only there, but everything is. That everything is important. That everything is beautiful. There is constantly something happening especially in Reykjavík. And while you observe the photographer slide through prosperity, recession, and other mundane things in the life of Icelanders, you remember that you don’t really have to leave anywhere to travel.
A famous author (who’s name I can’t reveal) never takes a camera along for his travels. He maintains that the only thing that matters is what is left within him at the end of the journey; the pictures in his head. To each his own. Obviously, Jói never never goes anywhere without a camera.
by Huldar Breiðfjörð www.joi.is
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Kirsten Opstad I explore everyday photography. The spectacular things that can happen when you least expect it. This second, too thrilled to breathe of fear of disturbing reality. And then with a camera from an old cell phone; I still managed to capture this moment. That is the beauty of photography. The solid proof that something spectacular happened. This unique opportunity to go back in time. The colours and the light, captured like it was, this second of calm. An indescribable silence that filled the whole room. www.kirstenopstad.no
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Rebecca Ravneberg A delicate wind of light I use my own life to tell a universal story, the story of saying goodbye. When growing up, I spent a lot of time with my parents at Steinbruvannet, a water located north of Oslo, Norway. During summer, we used to bike there on weekends and sunbathe at the piers. The best part was when the ice cream truck came. Then we ran towards it all three of us and stood in line. During winter we skied to Lillomarka, drank hot cocoa and met the neighbours in the tracks. Over the years this has been a place where I have collected many good memories, and often returned to.
When my mother died six years ago this place suddenly got a new meaning. If there’s one thing I have learned after my mom’s death is that death can teach us to live better. It can make us to look deep within ourselves and find the meaning of our presence. In “A delicate wind of light” I’m exploring death, as a representative of an end, but also an eternal reminder to find a good balance between what is expected of us, what we’re passionate about, and what we long to do. With “A delicate wind of light” I follow my heart and hope to inspire others to do the same. www.rebeccaravneberg.com rebecca@rebeccaravneberg.com www.ucsscandinavia.com
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Kristine Wathne Driving Drivers is a photographic project driven by an fascination for vehicles and the private isolated feeling we get in our cars. My family ran a car dealership for several generations, and being the photo maniac I am I have always remarked cars and their beautiful details. During the shooting process my curiosity increased for what we do and what we use our cars to - and how isolated and unseen we feel while we daydream sitting in our own little bubble in a tiny glass house on wheels.
After photographing tens of thousands of pictures of parked cars i got a bit bored. Wanting to explore and increase the projects size, seeking after an higher excitement during the photossessions I started hiding around in parking garages and neighbourhoods seeking after unexpected moments or while standing waiting along the roadside for an interesting moment come rolling along the asphalt in high speed. Driving drivers is a book to come, that showcases the Norwegian car culture. http://kristinewathne.format.com/#1 k-w-a@hotmail.no www.ucsscandinavia.com
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Tor Simen Ulstein Asphalt... Asphalt is what I am dreaming of, multiple turns and bends, uphill and down again. Oil and rock merged together in a dark mass, creeps through the landscape like a black serpent. Asphalt is what’s on my mind... www.tsulstein.com
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Sabina Jacobsson The main content of my work reflects cultural affiliation and social structures in settings of social institutions, roles, status positions, and relations between groups and individuals that regulates social patterns of behavior. I stagemanage narratives (stories/tales) about cultural solidarity/togetherness along with political issues through film and video installations both within and outside public spaces. Through several projects of artistic collaborations, I have been given the opportunity to work with different www.ucsscandinavia.com
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expressions, on stage as well as in gallery spaces, which has resulted in/contributed to my multifaceted expression. I have for some time been working with documentarism as a theme in my work. It wasn’t until 2013 that I came up with the idea to work somewhere in between documentary and fiction. The film I made during this time was “Boxing Memories”. The content built largely around two men, seemingly playing themselves, sharing
their life stories over a cup of coffee. Both have emigrated from Brazil in order to reside in Norway, and both have met a Norwegian man that they want to settle down with. The film plays out like an hour long conversation about integration and the problems one faces as an immigrant, specifically the struggle in becoming accepted by your newfound peers, as someone working within the arts. I filmed and edited the footage, to give it the feel of a
fictional drama. If one looks at the film’s setting, there’s a cinematic reference to “My Dinner With André” (1981) by Louis Malle. The title “Boxing Memories”, means to pack away the memories from one’s background because nobody seems to care about them. From this project, grew my interest in working with appropriations. I wanted to further experiment with classic dramaturgy and find new emotional potential within imagery. Not just to borrow and
intentionally alter preexisting images, but to make a research on preexisting work and explore what could come out from this process. Adopting a way of working and forcing myself to see and do things in a new way, could perhaps help myself to go deeper into my own work. I am for the moment working on the sixth piece in this serie and we will hopefully shoot next year in Spain. post@sabina.no www.sabinajacobsson.com
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RUNA AMANDA Den tørre humla i vinduskarmen // The Dried Bumblebee by the Window
all moments are equal all memories are connected holding hands with faded smiles and innocent bumblebees you didn’t know could hurt There are so many rough reality checks to go through when entering adult life. For example the realization that love might not always be enough to make it work. This book came to life on the verge of a turning point in my young adult life. It’s nostalgically sad and naively hopeful at the same time. I was confused. I still am, though. www.runaamanda.com runa_amanda@hotmail.com
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Jon Wang I once met a russian orthodox priest in Pskov, Russia. In his church there were no icons. Only cheap paper reproductions hung on its ancient white walls. Father George said to me “there is a petition to raise money to buy back real icons to hang in our church. Many of my congregation are ashamed of the lack of real icons. But to me the paper icons are not important. This is after all, not what makes a church a house of God�.
halls, smokey with incense. I have found beauty and mystery in the corner of a massage studio. And I wonder if the grandest cathedral is any more of a church than two sticks of incense in a glass of sand. Oslo, 2016 jonsverrewang@gmail.com www.jonwang.viewbook.com
As an agnostic I have no church. So I have appropriated these buddhist shrines as my surrogate temples. I have walked their hallowed
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Fredrik Larsson Deformation - Layer - Fragments Action - Convention - Progress Facade - Surface - Identity I confirm and build my identity with what I choose to surround myself with and what I use. I communicate and consume in order to create and maintain a self-image. A picture I present to the surrounding environment and which I mirror myself in and frames with an equally self defining repudiation.
The work attacks the surfaces or layers of the self-image found in the surroundings, objects, body, behavior and thought. Surfaces that constitute a self. The image are given shape when the material become subject of acts that one can experience or perform. They are planned, based, molded, painted, torn down, rebuilt, restored, cleaned, falls, developed, copied, pictured, sold, packaged, realized, manipulated, are reviewed, shared, discussed, questioned.
In this process layers and fragments of the self occurs, where materials and acts depicts each other or merges. The deformation create different limits, clues or options to the construction of the self. The process tries to answer how far onto ourself we dare to hold our self-image as being presented to the surroundings, but as well for ourselves. What is authenticity and falsehood? Is our image
unique, like a work of art, a self-portrait or is it a product, a commodity? Do the picture looks the way it does because it is what one want it to or because it needs to look a certain way? fredrik@svartselet.se www.svartselet.se
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Uncertain States Scandinavia is a non-profit lens based artist collective who are passionate in creating, discussing and promoting photography. In this volatile global climate the work reflects some of our current concerns and challenges how perception is formed in our society on issues as diverse as politics, religions and personal identity. For your on-line copy, visit www.ucsscandinavia.com Subscribe to the newspaper at info@ucsscandinavia.com | Follow us on Instagram: ucsscandinavia Uncertain States Scandinavia DA NO 916337027 Edited by Astrid Gjersøe Skåtterød, Tor S Ulstein and Charlie Fjätström. Designed By James Young. Printed by Sharman & Company Ltd, Peterborough.
We welcome submissions from lens-based artists for further publications. For all enquiries please contact info@ucsscandinavia.com
First Friday exhibition openings at Punkt Studiofelleskap Pop-up gallery | Sverdrups gate 15 Oslo | 19.00-22.00
Jói Kjartans
Magdalena Kotkowska
Astrid Gjersøe Skåtterød
64 ° Nov 4th
The Gardens Dec 2nd
Daylights Feb 3rd
Uncertain States Scandinavia Open Call 2017 To Celebrate 1 year in print Uncertain States Scandinavia invites new submissions via Open Call 2017. The work is curated by an exceptional panel of selectors and exhibited at Cyan galleri Grunnerløka Oslo. Each judge will select their own best of show and offer the reasons why the work has inspired them. The selected work will also be published in issue 5 of Uncertain States Scandinavia broadsheet which is distributed in Norway, Danmark and Sweden. The nine selected artists will be contacted by March 5th. All unsuccessful applications for the exhibition will be considered for future publication. Submission are now open - Closing date February 19th 2017 | For further details visit our website www.ucsscandinavia.com
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