Photo: Rune Johansen
Fra Kirkenes til Zapoljarny
Chances are you already know some works of the photographer Rune Johansen. His photos have become dear to many and he is widely known for his fascination for details, portraits, odd architecture, maximalist North-Norwegian house interior, etc. When looking at Johansen's portraits or landscapes, one often ends up smiling, as his photos have a humorous side, but is rarely ironic.
Rune Johansen has travelled both sides of the Norwegian-Russian border, in Sør-Varanger and in Nikel and Zapoljarny, to capture the essence of the Barents people and the surroundings. The diversity, the warmth, the strangeness and beauty are just a few words to describe what Johansen is presenting from his weeklong stay in the border area. Rune Johansen will be present during the festival to tell you the stories behind the photos presented in the exhibition.
Rune Johansen is based at Engeløya in Nordland and started photographing in 1976. He is self-taught and made his debut as a photographer at Høstutstillingen in 1990. From 2003 he decided to dedicate all energy into photography and has since given out six books, the first, Hiv manskjiten, becoming a huge success. Johansen`s photographs have been exhibited nationally and internationally, amongst other at Nasjonalmuseet for Kunst, Oslo, the traveling exhibition Norwegian Icons in Oslo, Tokyo and New York and Nordnorsk Kunstnersenter, Tromsø and in 2011 Johansen won the prestigious award Fotografiprisen.