In this raw and intimate self-portrait series, photographed by Maria Kn in the vast landscapes of Norway, the journey becomes as much about inner terrain as it is about glaciers, silence, and the stark beauty of nature.
‘I just got back from Norway. I went, among other reasons, to take self-portraits—and to finally see a glacier. I ended up on one of the hardest hikes of my life. Steep, brutal, beautiful. The kind of path that forces you to meet yourself in new ways. I kept thinking I might turn back, but I didn’t. And eventually, I stood before the glacier. I was freezing. I was in awe. I took photos with my body against that ancient ice, trying to understand it.
But the part I keep thinking about didn’t happen on the hike. It happened later that night, alone, back at the place I was staying. I just started crying. Because I couldn’t stop thinking about how that glacier, that perfect, powerful force of nature… is made of the same elements we are. And yet humans can be so cruel. So violent. How is that possible? How can something so breathtaking and something so ugly come from the same origin?
Norway cracked something open in me. The scale of the land. The silence. The overwhelming beauty. It’s hard to describe how deeply I felt it—like nature was holding up a mirror, asking me to remember what I’m made of.’
Maria Kn also contributed to our C-Heads print volume 38. The issue delves into the art of slowing down, celebrates the joy of crafting, invites you to feel the freedom from society’s temporal constraints, and captures the alluring sentiment that everything looks more beautiful under the sun.
