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Nøsterud’s photographs are first and foremost very intimate. It is clear that she is very involved with and extremely close to those she is photographing – at every level. In the view of the NJP editors, she has a great strength that is very important. The photographer delivers an impressively strong portfolio; we believe she is eminently well qualified for carrying out such a difficult project.

Excerpt from the project description:

A Dignified Old Age

“My good friend Johannes (94) was bounced back and forth like a ball between nursing homes and hospitals. He spent his last few weeks on this earth feeling that he was a tremendous burden. Nobody wanted him. In the end, he was sent to a hospital 200 km from his closest relatives. They grudgingly let him stay there for a week. At that point, Johannes said to his son: “I’ll take care of things myself.”
 “What do you mean by that?” asked his son. 
”First I’ll stop eating, then I’ll stop taking my medicines, and then I’ll stop taking liquids”, Johannes answered. 

Three days later, Johannes died alone. His family did not get there in time. They were informed of his death several hours after the fact. Johannes had taken care of his ailing wife for 15 years, and was always interested in other people. He had supported the local nursing home with gifts and donations. He died on 6 August 2009, at the age of 94. 
His story infuriated and saddened me, but it also inspired me to continue to address the subject of dignity.

I want to convey detailed stories, to show the people, their dreams, their yearnings, and the resistance they encounter. I want to show what dignity can be. I also want to show that a nursing home is not necessarily only a place for people who are dying, but that it can also be a home full of life being lived. I also want to use multimedia presentations to reach a larger audience.”

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