My working aim/schedule during the residency stay at Mörk darkroom in Helsinki was to work with the Lith printing technique, especially trying to get good results from printing on “difficult” printing papers. The Lith printing process is an alternative photographic process that involves use of old vintage papers, and testing and tweaking chemistry is a part of the process aiming at getting interesting results.

I feel that I achieved a higher level of experience and knowledge in this aspect during my residency stay. I also took new photographs during my stay; I had decided to go to Helsinki without bringing any negatives from Oslo. All the enclosed (scans of) prints are from negatives exposed during my stay, both in Helsinki/Rastila/Vuosaari, and from Jyväskylä, where I also spent a few days, after being invited by Luovake.

I held three workshops in the Lith printing technique during my stay; two at Mörk darkroom in Helsinki, and one at Luovake in Jyväskylä.

All in all, I am very grateful for being granted the residency stay. To me, being able to concentrate totally on photography and darkroom work for such a long period of time is pure bliss and a rewarding gift, I felt that I worked better and achieved more knowledge in these three weeks than I do in a year in my daily life in Oslo.

I also feel that I learned quite a lot from just working in another darkroom than the one I am used to in Oslo. Mörk darkroom is, in my view, an extremely well built and run darkroom, the ergonomic solutions gave me a lot of new ideas on how a darkroom can be designed, built and operated, ideas of which I bring back to Oslo and share with my colleagues here.

I really hope that the Nordic analog network residency program can continue for times to come, as it gives photographic artists a unique opportunity to develop their artistic practice.