Artist research - Andrea Gjestvang

Andrea Gjestvang is Norwegian photographer. Her work explores contemporary social issues within the Northern hemisphere. Her work has also been described to have “a strong political view on the social and anthropological issues related to globalization, identity and cultural uniqueness”. One of most famous series of work that received outstanding recognition and which she also received a grant for was the series of images ‘One day in history’. This series was based on a bombing which took place in Oslo, killing a total of eight people. She made it her mission to travel around the country photographing survivors of the attack. The 48 portraits created displayed the extent of the attack on these individuals, showing them to have scars and injuries; both mental as well as physical. I am especially drawn to the work that Gjestvang creates because of how each of her projects tells a story with the use of text to accompany her images, allowing her audience to connect with the image and fully immerse themselves into the topic that is being discussed as well as the individual that us being photographed.