Bendiksen is one of Norway’s most prominent photographers, and the editors know what he stands for as a photographer and as an inspirational figure. He is a well-established photographer who has completed a number of major projects, including exhibitions and book publications.
The editorial board never had any doubts about including him in the NJP group. He has a distinctive photographic style in terms of content, composition and journalism, combined with the ability to complete formidable, demanding projects. These are important characteristics that the editorial board would like to include in this edition of NJP. In our opinion, Bendiksen’s works will also benefit from being developed in a setting with other Norwegian photographers, and his project from Northern Norway may move in even more exciting directions thanks to his participation in NJP.
Excerpt from the project description
Local newspapers in Vesterålen
I will be spending some time working as a photographer for a handful of local newspapers in Vesterålen. Through routine assignments for the newspapers, I will have a unique opportunity to observe everything that takes place in a small community in a rural part of Norway. No news item too big or too small: I want to investigate local political issues, personalities, minor events and everything else to which I will be exposed. The point of placing me on the newspapers’ editorial staffs is to avoid the typical Lofoten/Vesterålen romanticised pictures of whales, mountains and fishing boats, and instead to take an in-depth look at what is going on in the local community. At the same time, outsider that I am, I hope to compose images from a slightly different perspective than what one usually sees in the local newspapers. This project will be a study of life in an outlying area of Norway, as well as a celebration of the very institution of local newspapers.
