SPACES

"I love to feel that they let me. That we together in a collaboration are creating something that we both can stand by. I am in my images as much as the subject that I am directing and photographing. We mirror each other in each other's mistakes, movements, and personalities. Together in a collaboration we create an atmosphere that is safe, secure, and filled with trust. I will dare to say that I am a brave photographer and director, because I am curious and vulnerable with my subjects." 

When you think about spaces, what comes to mind for you? Like, how do you interpret them? I am thinking of both something concrete as in peoples places that fascinate me because it tells me something about them. Their space and their environment, a place that has helped shaping them. I am also thinking of something more mindful as in a space that might not exist physically but a place we as individuals can visit when we need them perhaps. To feel grounded. I like to think of the mindful space as something private, and the spaces that are more concrete or physical as something we can visit and be curious about, talk about and explain.

Could you paint a picture of what a safe space looks like in your mind? I'm really curious to hear your take on it. I think that safe spaces are personal, as in what must be a safe space for me might be completely different to another. Creating a safe space for another when it comes to photography, means to me to create an atmosphere where consent exist explicitly and where I check in a lot with the person photographed. I like to meet the people I photograph before making an image of them, to understand their being better and to come up with an image together. To understand their boundaries and their own reflections on their surroundings and to get to know each other better. I think that helps me creating a more safe and trustful environment. I think a safe space is a place that is secure, open, curious and full of trust in the other.

Your photography has this really unique focus on relationships and collaboration. What's been the biggest influence on your approach and the way you collaborate with others? I have learnt so much from collaborating, from talking to people and to interact. I am deeply fascinated by relations, how we relate to each other and to another, based on how that can shape us as individuals and the collaborations that we have. When I make images I start because I am curious, that’s always my foundation for creating - wanting to learn and to get to know someone with my camera. Collaboratively I work with people on the images of them and involving them. I want to make people feel seen and relate to each other through the image we create. The projects and images becomes in a way a constant dialog to me, from research, to making an image, to editing.

How do you believe vulnerability and softness can reshape the narrative and help people fully embrace who they are? I have realised through photography how vulnerable of a position it is to be in front of the camera. That you are in a very literal sense showing yourself. I find this vulnerable position incredibly brave. With a person being vulnerable with me, I feel a responsibility to nurture that and to be vulnerable with them too. To protect them as well and care for the stories that they share. I think being vulnerable is brave and important, due to letting in someone else and share these thoughts and stories. These positions in life. Inviting in softness and care breeds empathy and that, I find so important to rehearse. To rehearse empathy and learn to mirror each other and put ourselves in other peoples positions. I think it can help embracing ourselves, feeling seen and being embraced by another.

And finally, what steps do you think we can take to foster more vulnerability and acceptance in our relationships and within our broader community? In previous question I mentioned empathy and the importance of rehearsing it. I think this is key to me at least. To rehearse active listening, mirror body language and take responsibility for own actions and for the people we have in our lives. To learn from our mistakes and try to create a space where care is present and being vulnerable is possible. I think it is also of importance to understand why a person might not be vulnerable, that there can be reasons for that and that it can take time to open up to someone else, so I think patience in a space of acceptance is also something that is important to reflect on. I try to see people with my camera and look at them with as much love as I can. And I try to create a space where we can see each other. To me this is where a true image get to exist and this is what I am aiming for in my relations and collaborations. Honesty, trust, vulnerability and empathy.

This series was created as a collaboration between six different talents from Majin and Vixtoria Salomonsen. Before photographing, Vixtoria met with each of them individually to discuss how to create their image. They then chose the locations for the photo sessions, and afterward, each talent selected the final image that resonated most with them. They also provided feedback about their image and photo session through drawings, texts, and poetry."Spaces" is a series of photographs of each talent within Majin in their personal environments. The aim of these images is to get to know each talent better and create a series of photographs that reflect their personalities through their chosen spaces. These spaces are locations that reflect who they are and where they situate themselves. Through trust, collaboration, and care, the series seeks to get closer to the different personalities, to understand them better, and to appreciate their individual perspectives. It aims to empower the talents and give them a voice in the creation of their images.

This is a place since the beginning.
In this evaporated haunted city

where my mind lost and found.
my body in metamorphosis
my I’ll call it family in constant negotiations between holiday trips and work periods.
my friends. Who are my friends?
my beliefs. What are my beliefs?

In this liquid city a brain-like architecture carves the walls of my living-room. Some people I met here I lost and some people lost themselves here. I still see them when I come back. And I think how much I’ve changed and how little they’ve moved. They still page through the same book as 8 years ago, as if to carve out the impossible pearl to their conundrums. This brain, an erasure of labyrinth-like disorientation. Or maybe I’ve been here for too long. Carpet floor muffles the prints’ particles and stores the dust into lines and rows. And decay and authority dance. And they dress in anatomy and their choreography is the one of symmetry but anatomy… anatomy is the host.

This place hoards beginnings and its fissures welcome the change in. A drainage in the back for memory lost.

This book still stands on the same corridor, but not me.
‍
8,5 years ago. 

베를린
백조가 강 위를 우아하게 유영하기 위해서는 물에 잠겨 있는 갈퀴를 끊임없이 움직여야 한다고 누군가는 말했었다. 그러나 사실은 그렇지 않다는 것. 우리가 진실이라 믿고 있는, 진실이라 믿고 싶은 것들은 실제로 그렇지 않을 수 있을 수도 있다는 것을 이 곳에서 나는 더 유연하게 받아들일 수 있게 되었다. 마치 백조의 깃털처럼 아주 부드럽고 매끈하게.

It is said that for a swan to gracefully glide on the river, it must constantly move its webbed feet beneath the surface. I now realize that it is, perhaps, not always true. Here, I have become more flexible; accepting; The things we believe in or want to believe as truth - might not actually be so. Accept them with grace.An image like the feathers of a swan, gentle to behold, soft and smooth.

So far, so good, I’m still in the mood.

No need to restrict yourself just to fit in with others.
Just look in the mirror and be the best version of yourself.