Chernobyl Exclusion Zone 2019

Exhibition: Planket Stockholm 2023.

After the reactor accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986, large areas were evacuated, including the city of Pripyat's 50,000 inhabitants. Radioactive radiation is still high in many parts of the area and radiation checks are numerous when visiting The Exclusion Zone. It was with a feeling of doom that we wandered these abandoned places with traces of people. Nature and time take over. Since 2022, Ukraine is once again hit by a major disaster.

Rooftops

Rooftop bars are common internationally but present a new phenomena in Stockholm as several venues have opened up the roofs in recent years. This is my view of Stockholm rooftops – as autumn is approaching.

Nightlife

I like to photograph when darkness falls, when the night begins and the night life comes alive.

Imaginations

Do you see what I see? How do you perceive the world? Do you see what your eyes observe, what you want to see or what you think you see? Is it real? If society - and street life - is constructed by people in their interactions with each other. Then what is it? And for whom?

Hedonistic Tourism

Tourism has grown substantially over the years. A holiday is often the highlight of the year and it provides "a chance to escape from work and the grey skies and to revitalize the spirit". It allows us to "indulge in pleasurable activities" (Horner & Swarbrook 2016 Consumer behaviour... 3rd ed, p. 3). Hedonistic tourism, motivated by a desire for sensual pleasure, is encapsulated in the classic four s's: sea, sun, sand and sex. "Though often harmless fun, hedonistic tourism is often seen to have a negative impact on both the tourist and the host community" (p. 37).
And let us admit: tourism is often both awkward and ridiculous!

America in Sweden

People and cars at American car shows in Sweden: "While the raggare movement has its roots in late 1950s youth counterculture, today it is associated mainly with middle aged men who enjoy meeting and showing off their retro American cars. However, the subculture retains its rural and small town roots as well as its blue collar and low brow feel. The original phenomenon unleashed moral panic but the contemporary raggare subculture tends to be met with amusement or mild disapproval by mainstream society." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raggare; 30/7-16)

The Odd

We live in a time of rationality. Everything must be meaningful and relevant. It shall contribute to the construction of your identity and help achieve your goals. All our actions and creations shall have a purpose – to sell, tell, depict, prove, learn or teach... The Odd seeks to be irrational, incomprehensible, and each image is created without a specific meaning. They aim to be pointless. Is is possible? Or will our minds, ironically, still search for a meaning? Is the Odd series just telling us yet another story?