Interview with Jói Kjartansson
SKOG Intern Jeanne Dos Santos interviews artist Jói Kjartasnsson before exibition at Oslo Negativ
The Interview begins with Kjartansson telling me about the begining of his art career. Beginning with graphic design, and gradually found his way to analog Photography.
Maybe a stupid question, but what make you wanna take pictures?
He feels that he is obsessed with photography and capturing moments. He feels he has a duty to photograph moments and situations. There is always something magical within every moment. Places, situations and experiences. The process of working with analog photography is very interesting, and makes the final expression even more rewarding.
What do you prefer taking pictures of?
Kjartansson tells me he rarely seeks out motivs, everything happens naturally, ¨the motivs find me¨.
As a child growing up in Iceland, he found his surroundings and the nature uninteresting. As an adult he has grown a new appreciation to the unique Icelandic nature. Kjartansson had a trip to Iceland where he dedicated his time to appreciating nature and capturing moments.
Jói Kjatansson
What do you wish to disseminate?
He tells me that he thinks some of his pictures can be interpreted as ¨ugly pretty¨, and continues to tell me about the feeling that he experiences, the feeling of being absorbed by nature and the majestic feelings Iceland can bring forward.
Kjartansson likes to work fast, spontaneous and repetitively, trying to capture as many moments as possible.
The most important part of his expressions is the natural nature of all his pictures. Kjartansson never cuts or edits pictures. He captures the natural moment, with no exeption.
How do you choose witch pictures to exhibit?
First of all, he exhibits the pictures he likes the best. For the Exhibition at Oslo Negativ, he uses only the pictures taken from his trip in Iceland. The choice is not easy, but working with artist Jonas Carlsen towards the exhibition has been a giving prosess. They have worked together to find both parallels and kontrasts that can enhance their expression.
Jói Kjartansson
At last i ask Kjartansson, What do you find challenging with photography?
¨Killing your darlings¨, is the hardest endevor.
Lasty but not least, Kjartansson tells me about participating in the next issue of Norwegian Journal of Photography. Issue Nr.7, here Kjartansson will show many more pictures from his trip to Iceland, and the special touch he brings to photography.
Read more about our partisipation at Oslo Negativ