VILDE STEDAL KALVIK

In the mood for dreaming








Vilde Stedal Kalvik is a Norwegian photographer, writer, musician, an art lover always looking for new ways to express herself, a border line baby like the name of the blog in which she publishes her poems and reflections. She’s also the author of one of the earlier covers of our magazine. It was the December 2010 issue, the magazine had been born just a couple of months ago and she presented the photographic series Thruthful details. But now is the moment of her latest project titled Dark sides of the mind in which she explores her thoughts and feelings throught the facial expression. She describes the project saying “I wanted to capture feelings that we're not that proud to show, and that I believe is too rarely used in art. And I also wanted to show how feelings like hate or carelessness develop”.

What’s the light for you?

Talking on photography, lightning is essential. First of all because there would be no picture without it, someone said photography is painting with light  And because it has such a big influence on the "feeling" in the photo.

In my life light is the people I love and small things like birds singing, beatiful music and poetry, being outside, and expressing myself through various forms of art. I've searched for the meaning of life for so many years, and I've come to that conclusion that there is none, you have to make your own. And I believe many people forget to be thankful for things like close friendships, family, freedom, not being poor. Essentially I think light is the light good people carry inside them. People who want to do good just for the sake of it, not because they gain anything from it. People who shares the love, who aren't afraid to give compliments and to love others even if they risk to get nothing in return. People who are themselves, who shares both tears and laughter, who aren't preoccupied with pride or envy.

And darkness?

I guess everyone carries darkness to some extent, it's how we deal with it that matters. Some become sad, anxious and self destructive, some protects them self to the point of isolation, some agressive, violent and cruel. If you can find a way to express it e.g. through music and art it can be a good thing. Maybe it teaches you to appreciate the good things in life more, to see the difference. Also, I often find darkness comforting, calming. Like a safeplace.

What do you get from photography?

Photography for me is just another way to express myself. I also write and make music, but i like that photography gives me the opportunity to express myself visually rather than in words. I guess if I was a god painter that would do the same, and then I'd also be able to capture more abstract or fictional thigs, but sadly I'm not skilled enough to paint or draw things the way I picture them in my mind.

Have you really discovered the dark sides of your mind?

I think I've discovered quite many of them at least. I'm trying to be more attentive to what I'm thinking and why, and not to give in to hasty reactions. I would like to rid myself of feelings like envy and greed, but it's hard because I think these feelings are quite basic to the mind. You can see it with children and animals to. It might be something we need to survive, I don't know. I never hate people though. Partially because I think it's a waste of energy but also because I think you can never know enough about a person, their motives and reasons, to justify hate. Other feelings that are painful for the carrier but not harming anyone else, like sadness and fear, I think is making us stronger and wiser, and thus I'm trying to learn how to accept them rather than just hide them or undermine them.

Could you tell me about each one of the photographs? The first one is Confussion.

I took this photo late at night, in my bathroom, as well as the other photos. I guess at night all these dark feelings become stronger and more evident. I started playing with long shutter and got some interesting results. Of course, some of them I couldn't use, but this one and some of the other turned out to something which I felt think this is how I picture myself when I'm confused and anxious, out of touch with myself, thoughts running and vision blurred.

Fear.

Well. I'm not thinking of the fear you feel if you see a snake or do something you are scared of, more the fear of losing everything, of life itself, of feeling empty and lost, or of being alone for forever. A fear full of despair and sadness.

Denial.

I felt that having my eyes both closed and open at the same time was a perfect way to symbolize denial. Because you see what's there still you shut your eyes trying not to.

Envy.

I also considered calling this greed. Envy is also a feeling diffucult to capture in a photo. A friend of mine struggled with just that a few months ago for a photo project, so when the picture turned out like this I felt it was perfect. The eyes remind me of snake eyes, so maybe associate snakes or reptilians with those feelings. I've nothing against snakes though, for the record.

Hate.

I think the eyes have this coldness to them which I feel you get only when you despise someone so much you're not even angry at them anymore. You have nothing left for them but hatred.

Disillusion.

I think when you've been through the above mentioned feeling too many times and you have been dissappointed even more, in the end you give it all up. There's nothing to be angry at, nothing to wish for. People will fail each other over and over, and bad things will happen to those who deserves it the least. And it's both a pleasant, calm feeling and something utterly sad. Nothing can hurt you anymore, but then it's all very empty.

Why have you decided these order?

I wanted to show a chain of reactions, what lead to what. I'm always trying to figure out what lies behind peoples feelings and reactions. I guess there could have been other orders. At least fear, denial and envy could swap places. And I don't think everyone will come to disillusion. But I wanted to show my emotional path, others might rearrange the photos to fit theirs.

What’s the reason of the black and white in this series?

I feel like black and white makes photos much more expressive and potent, that it is easier to make a powerful expression. I think that colors often can draw the attention away from the main subject, black and white gives more credit to the cause, it's calmer yet more dramatic, and it's more timeless. You can take photos who could be taken now or 100 years ago, while with colors you can easily see how new the camera is/was and when the clothes or other objects are from. Black and white makes it much easier, especially if you're making a series. Also, you can turn up the contrast without getting weird colors, and you're not that dependent on good lightning. I also think that people look more beautiful in black and white. Their features becomes more evident.

The previous series you presented in NAU NUA was called Thruthful details and it was made in black and white too.

Yes, I guess it's because of what I said above. That it is easier to make expressive and stylistic photos. I think many pictures look better and more professional when you switch them to black and white. But of course, good color photographs can be amazing.

Could you tell me the color of your dreams?

Do you mean my favorite color or what color my dreams have? My favorite color is black when it comes to clothes and maybe dark purple, wine red, emerald green or turqouise. And when I think of my dreams I think of them as purple or blue, but that might change with the type of dream or what mood I'm in, I not sure. Cool question.
VILDE STEDAL KALVIK | DARK SIDES OF MIND exhibition here

An interview by Juan Carlos Romero
Photo by Vilde Stedal Kalvik. Disillusion © Vilde Stedal Kalvik
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