Bifröst
In 2023, Romain Coudrier travels to Norway, north of the Arctic Circle. He travels through the city, deep into the countryside, from Tromsø to the Lofoten Islands and back again. He catches on the fly what the “land of the Fjords” has to offer and what it can’t: a palette of harsh, snowy landscapes between sea and mountains, a rare light, all shades of black and white with an omnipresent grain. He wanders like an amateur in this “film noir” atmosphere, letting himself be surprised – and us along with him. Gone are the postcards of the picturesque red wooden cottage, the emerald aurora borealis and other ready-made ideas. Make way for silence.
These photos were taken with a 35mm camera, often triggered in a single, simple shot. Paul no longer hesitates to wander, to waste his time, to take a random route. It’s as good a way as any of immersing himself in raw nature, the cradle of a great civilization and the bearer of a legendary historical and folkloric heritage: the Vikings and Nordic mythology. What is certain – and more and more historians are insisting on this point – is that the Vikings were at least as much merchants as warriors… A cynical wink at the present, where, despite the miles covered, in these great reclusive spaces, mass consumption is omnipresent. As for the Norwegians, apart from a few traces in the snow or certain fleeting encounters, they are virtually absent, as if having left for other horizons. This series brings together an unchanging geography and the people who live there, their time passing… Capturing a strange temporality, “Bifröst” is indeed a bridge, a coming and going between different worlds.
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