Take Care (first edition) can be purchased here.
Do you remember your first days in Oslo? When everything was strange and new to you? They are a magical few days. Even going to the shop or taking the bus is an adventure. The buildings, the streets, the people, the air and the light has its own character and you observe it with curiosity and fascination. The brain is in overdrive, you see something entirely new and you know this is something you are going to remember. You nervously jump on the bus, butterflies in your stomach, you still do not know if this is the right one, even if your phone tells you it is: this is your first time. The bus cradles you around corners and roundabouts, accelerates up straight roads, shops, people, trees and parks flash by and are seen for the first time by your eyes.
You start your new job, here too everything is new, and you struggle a bit in the beginning, even the simplest tasks require the highest concentration, but after a few months you get the hang of it. The streets you saw for the first time not long ago have become familiar, you walk the same paths every time, to the shop, to town, to friends, to work, to school. It is not new anymore, it has become the place where you live. Everywhere you go, all the things you do, the food you eat, the people you meet, you have been in contact with them before and they become part of your routines which in sum make up your life. The routines are safe and good. You know how to handle them.
Months pass and you barely notice. You are on autopilot. You get drunk in the weekends in an attempt to break things up, but even your nights out have become routine and rarely offer anything new. The excitement is gone. The sweet nervousness you felt when you got on the bus that first time is so far away now that you barely remember it. Nothing surprises you anymore. Your train is on a straight and isolated track, and you can see all the way to the last stop. It cannot go on like this, you think. Or is this just life? You feel deflated, but continue like before. The wheel must keep on turning.
One day something happens. You have finally had it with the boredom. You seek out something entirely new, you are vulnerable and alone. There are no familiar faces here. What are you feeling in your stomach now? Someone comes up to you and asks if you want a cigarette. You don’t smoke, you say, but you join them anyway because you have been waiting for this. Next to you is a person you have never seen before. You greet and discover that you are both here by yourself. From this moment it becomes apparent that this is no ordinary meeting.
She lights her second smoke. You continue talking, you and this fantastic person, you keep on talking about things you have never talked about before. It is the middle of the night in the city you thought you knew so well, which you thought had stopped surprising you. The hours pass, night slowly turns into to morning, you say goodbye and jump on the bus home. It accelerates up the familiar streets, which seem to glitter and glow in the rays of the early morning sun, but it is not just the light; the city has suddenly changed for you, and you are filled with an intense feeling of happiness.
Notes on features contemporary photography accompanied by creative or critical writing.