Story

juni 7, 2016

Text Maren Serine

Maria Pasenau came smiling into the foyer dressed in a blue and white football shirt with delicate gold necklaces camouflaging the Italian flag on her chest. Maria’s dark hair was parted in the middle and drawn tight back in her neck, a hairstyle that made her look a little bit of Wednesday from The Adam’s Family. Her neck was piled with three tattoo chokers in black, brown and transparent. Maria ferociously hugged Maren Serine and explained that she had just sold an old camera to the guy that Maren Serine had seen her meet up with outside and now she really wanted them to celebrate with drinks.

Untitled by Maria Pasenau

Shortly after, Signe Fuglesteg Luksengard arrived carrying a travel bag over her shoulder. She was wearing a white and navy striped t-shirt under a new mustard colored trench coat. She had recently fallen for it in Paris when she was on a vacation there with her boyfriend. The blonde hair was pulled up in a loose ponytail except from a few strands on the loose that she stroke behind the ears before she greeted the other two girls with gentle kisses on their cheeks.

Blaut bikini by Signe Luksengard

Maria went up to the DJ-booth and triumphantly held a Mac DeMarco record up in the air. «Salad days» was the title of the record, which was right down her alley in many ways. It had been a very hot day and the three of them sat down on wooden chairs around a grey marble table to cool down with some drinks. They all knew each other a bit from before, but this was the first time that they had got together to talk professionally. The reason for the occasion was the exhibition 01 PHOTOGRAPHY NORWAY by UNCONTAMINATED Oslo Fashion Art Festival, and Maren Serine had been thrilled to discover the two monDieu members among the nine photographers chosen for their unique expressions in-between art and fashion when one of the founders, Rita Larsen had sent the invitation to monDieu.

Signe told about her photo shoot that recently had been published b the fashion magazine REVS, and the girls exchanged their thoughts on fashion photography. They had all noticed how many fashion photographs lacked any narrative and how common it was seeing ordinary models doing trendy poses with absence of inner expression and character. Signe expressed her frustration of how this trend in fashion photography constantly promoted something she considers lifeless and unhealthy role-models and that she always searched for loopholes for artistic freedom. After a sip of the foam on her whiskey sour, Maria optimistically told about her work for Recens Paper where she had recently become in-house photographer. She explained how much she loved being a part of a group that moves away from the kind of forced perfection constantly polluting fashion, and that she grows cratively by doing exactly as she wants as a fashion photographer.

When Maren Serine asked if the girls had met the other photographers from the exhibition line-up they both shook their heads, but Signe knew that one of them came from the same place as her. Knut Bry was also from the valley Hallingdal right in the middle of the East and the West of Norway. This made Maren Serine imagine that growing up in such beautiful surroundings had to be a reason for the romantic touch that she had noticed in many of both Signe and Knut’s photographs.

Photographer Massimo Lardini was the curator of 01 PHOTOGRAPHY NORWAY, and the girls were fascinated with the photographs that he picked out of everything they had and how he arranged them in a different way than they would have themselves. From Maria’s ongoing projects the curator had chosen eleven pieces in 20 x 30 cm and a self-portrait in 70 x 100 cm. Except from the big self-portrait, all of her works were still-life photographs showing what Maria finds most beautiful but the same time most difficult.

Untitled by Maria Pasenau

Signe’s theme for the exhibition was abstraction and cosmos, and the curator had chosen eleven of her pieces. A photograph printed on A2 paper was of a man in snow. She explained that the landscape looked like it could have been shot on the moon. The rest of Signe’s photographs followed the same pattern; Two photographs printed on A3 paper showed a forrest and a white hand. Seven photographs printed on A4 paper pictured green sea, a wet bikini, dead foxes, cars, a person running away, a fisherman from Lofoten and a cod from Lofoten. Two photographs printed on A5 paper had sparkling shards and smoke on them.

Lofotfiskar by Signe Luksengard

In many ways the two girls reminded Maren Serine of the title of Maria’s exhibition at the Art school Prosjektskolen where she is a student; «Same same but different».