photos taken during the Velferden Winter Residency 2025

Sokndal is unlike other mining towns I have been to, as the Titania mine is still running at full speed and the town has a thriving community. Dominating both the impression of the place and the conversations there was the extraordinary landscape with its unique geological features and vibrant colors despite being in the dead of winter

During my stay at Velferden I visited different sites forever changed by extractive industries, surrounded by industrial wind turbines, expropriated farms, vast landscapes that are projected to become dumping-sites, sites due to host Israel-owned data centres, sites of clashes between the fascist occupation and the norwegian resistance in WW2 and I finally went to visit a power station my grandfather once worked at, only to find it had been recently demolished.

The town which is in the norwegian bible-belt region also has a fanatic christian-zionist community, which I thankfully only encountered through star-of-david christmas decorations on some houses.

All of these things to me represent the very tangible presence of colonialism in Norway, in what has been presented to me as a country and landscape somehow disconnected from colonial history and present, devoid of global responsibilities and accountability. The landscape is rapidly being transformed to the point that it will be unrecognizable to future generations, and it is not the doing of the collective will of local communities. Acknowedging this to me also comes with a duty to resist these destructive practices in all of the ways we can

I’m beyond grateful to the generous hosts and residents at the Velferden residency and their inspiring work.