These images are rough cuts from a new project I am working on. Most of the project is shot on film, but as I am still traveling and working, none of it has been processed yet. I also shoot digitally along the way, just to be safe, and the images above are (some fresh and new) examples of that work.

The project itself is a collaboration with my childhood friend from boarding school, Vibeke Bidstrup. She works as a pastor in the lutheran church of Denmark, more specifically Grundtvig’s Church in Copenhagen. We also live together at the rectory. For a long time, we have been planning to work on a project together, mostly because it would be fun but also because it could be interesting, our very different backgrounds considered.

To sum the project up very (extremely) briefly, it is about the concept and understanding of freedom, in- and outside of religion and its institutions. We are traveling the Baltic countries, visiting sites of interest and meeting different people along the way for informal interviews. Political activists, a catholic priest, a new age life-coach, a teenager, a journalist, a vice president, a psychologist etc.They talk about their lives and their ideas of freedom while we listen and learn. I take pictures along the way, and once we return home we will start working on a book of photographic essays by me, combined with text by Vibeke.

The inspiration for the project, and our approach to it, stems from modern readings of Old Testament texts relating to the subject of freedom. An example would be Genesis, in which Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit, learn to tell the difference between good and bad and are kicked out of The Garden of Eden as a consequence. This could be read as a tale of growing up and becoming aware of your actions and their consequences. You become responsible. God then punishes them. Eve has to bear children and give birth in pain, while Adam has to work hard to provide for his family. Thus, they are no longer living in ignorant bliss but their lives now have a purpose and, perhaps, meaning.

This balance between freedom, responsibility and meaning is what our project is about. When do we, as humans, feel free and where – and to whom – do we look for meaning and purpose.

For me it has been very interesting to work on a collaborative project with someone so different from myself, and from outside the art world. The subject of religion is new to me and so is my approach, which means that the work I end up making also looks very different from what I have previously done. It has been a nice break from my self-centred personal practice. Tomorrow we are going home, and I cannot wait to get to processing and scanning all the work I have been doing the past month. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures above.

This was my last entry as a guest-blogger. Thank you for having me, Der Greif.

//Birk Thomassen