Underskog

Noplace, Oslo proudly presents:

HELP

Jason Havneraas

10.01.14 – 12.01.14

Opening: Friday 10.01.14, 20.00 – 23.00

Performance at 21.00

…

Opening hours 14-17, Saturdays and Sundays

What to search for in a portrait? Over time a portrait becomes better, not because the image has improved, but because we understand it. Time has given us the depth of consequence. We realize now. We couldn’t then. It was too close to us.

A portrait can only reflect the artist’s opinion or wish, projecting onto the subject (the human being), how it should appear. In a selection of images this becomes even more visible. Making a portrait is essentially telling a story about who is valid, who is interesting, who is worth it. An unsuccessful portrait is a rejection, almost to the extent of being a violation. Inviting someone to be photographed is telling them they matter, but also hinting that the subject is a freak. So does a freak matter?

When making a landscape the artist is selecting his world, because we never see ourselves, not like we really are. The artist’s projection onto the subject intertwines with the romance of the landscape, reflecting his inner self. And here the communication between the photographer as a judge, a shrink or a charlatan is dipped into a contrast fluid of his dreams, gaze and narcissism.

Creating portrait photographs is an amplifier of empathy. You do steal something though, this is not only a cliché, it’s a fact. When making a photograph of someone, you basically alter that individual, but there is an exception: What happens if you photograph someone with no self-consciousness? Suddenly the portrait becomes a landscape. There is no clash of ego. There is only one: The brain and the eye behind the lens. Suddenly you face yourself and your own vanity. If you really want to know the truth you have to go mad.

Stand in the middle of the madness and sing a song.

The biggest challenge for a photographer is to make the abnormal look normal and normality abnormal, confusing the terms. Jason Havneraas’ pictures are in essence about making other people visible. Photographs never get old, because how could they?