Interview #441: Jonas Ersland
Jonas Ersland’s carefully composed images of the everyday deal with themes of home and perspective.
q: Give a short introduction to yourself:
a: I am a 24-year old person from Norway. I’ve always liked photography as a way of defining your own personal point of view. I used to study graphic design in Oslo, but then I graduated, and had to find something else to study. So now I’m attending the Design Academy Eindhoven where I’m studying a new course called Food Non Food. It is basically about approaching food-related issues and questions from a wide design perspective. We do a lot of fun stuff.
q: Your photo project “Nowhere Like Home” is a month photo series from different places. Why did you choose that name for the project?
a: I think our way of experiencing different places will always be affected by where we come from. Our home. However, a home doesn’t have to be defined as just one place, or even a place at all. But I think it’s good to be aware of where or what you define as home, because it’s what shapes your perspective and point of view. My own home is located in Stavanger, where I’ve lived most of my life.
q: Photography can help highlight certain interesting visual situations in ordinary spaces. What was the intention/motivation behind “Nowhere Like Home”?
a: It started last summer, when I came back home to Norway after living my first year abroad. As I walked around in the town of Mandal I realised that my new friends from all over the world would have a completely different experience of this same place. And I liked the thought of how a place can be completely ordinary to some people, and really exotic to others. So I started taking photos of my everyday surroundings to bring back to the Netherlands. And I realised that if a completely normal place like Mandal could result in an interesting photo series, then other places probably had the same potential as well. Now I’m making a photo series from a new place every month, focusing on how every place is unique in its own ordinary way.
q: What do you miss most/least about home?
a: I miss the smell of the nearby industrial area, and the long beaches along the coast of Stavanger. And my family, of course. I can live without the long, wet winters, though.
q: Photographic equipment?
a: It depends – I normally bring my Nikon D7100 when I know I’ll be photographing. However, I’m always working on several series in parallel, and sometimes you’re surprised with a great scene when all you have got is your iPhone. Many of the pictures are from the iPhone or a random digital pocket camera I bring along sometimes.
q: Upcoming projects or ideas?
a: At the moment my study is taking a lot of attention – we’re going to arrange some kind of research workshop in the Salone del Mobile in Milan later this spring. And of course I’m constantly working on new photo series. At the moment I’m focusing on the small village of Nuenen, near Eindhoven. They brand themselves as the Van Gogh Village, while in fact he only lived there for two years. It’s an interesting place.
q: Any new music to recommend?
a: I am very passionate about disco music, and my all time favourite disco track is probably “If You Know Like I Know” by Teddy Pendergrass. That song shows absolutely no mercy to the dance floor.
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