I live and work in Lyngør, a car-free island off the southern coast of Norway, where my family has lived for twelve generations. My father is a sailmaker, my grandfather was a sailor, and as a child I rowed to school. A decade ago I circumnavigated the Atlantic in a pilot cutter built in 1894. The sea—through heritage, daily life and history—forms the foundation of my photographic practice.

My work explores how natural forces leave traces, often beyond human control. Using long exposures, triple exposures and tricolor techniques, I allow wind, tide and light to shape the image. The intention is to capture the sensation of being in a place, surrounded by movements otherwise invisible.

I work in a darkroom set up in a former herring saltery in Lyngør, where I produce large silver gelatin fibre prints up to 170 cm wide, mounted in frames made by a local boatbuilder. The sail loft above is still active, connecting my practice to a long craft tradition. Passing on this knowledge is important to me, and each winter I invite assistants and workshop participants into the darkroom.

My last project, Imagine a Place, combines conceptual seascapes with portraits of Lyngør’s last residents and texts from Johan Harstad, Dag O. Hessen, Simen Tveitereid and Håkon Haugland. It was presented as a photobook this summer and will be an exhibitions at Bomuldsfabriken in Arendal this autumn. The project reflects on continuity, cultural heritage and the forces that shape small communities.

My debut came in 2009 with photographs from the Atlantic voyage. Since then my work has been acquired by Preus Museum and exhibited internationally, including Venice, London, Paris, New York and Boston. It has been featured in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, Dagbladet Magasinet and D2.