Men with large backpacks (2010-)
Swedish title: Män med stora ryggsäckar
Men with large backpacks is an ongoing photographic series that depicts men of different ages carrying heavy loads. They are walking around enclosed in their own bubble, depicted in profile or obliquely from behind in a kind of anonymous, generic cityscapes. With a clear focus on the backpack, it serves as a metaphor and psychological projection surface for men's personal history. The pictures reflect the lostness many men feel in the face of the expectations that exist in today's Western society, with the varying ideals for how he should look, feel and act. In addition, there are often major inherent conflicts within the same ideal, which can create great confusion for the man at the individual level. Each picture is composed of many photos taken from the same point of view, then stylized so that it resembles something between photos and drawings, and finally printed on matte inkjet paper and mounted in a wooden frame.
The series has recently been exhibited at ”Ostrale biennale O23” in Dresden, Germany. In 2019 and 2018, at ”Mitt-Salong 2019” in Exercishallen and at ”Andropause” in Ahlbergshallen, both in Östersund, Sweden.
#1 (2010/2018), 74 x 74 cm, edition 5 + 1 AP
#2 (2018), 74 x 90 cm, edition 5 + 1 AP
#3 (2021), 74 x 90 cm, edition 5 + 1 AP
