Kristina Sälgvik - 'Conversation Piece'

There is something incredibly beautiful about the way that Sälgvik documents her friend’s bipolar manic depression. The work describes the habits of a troubled man, a personal side of himself that is presented to the photographer. Bipolar manic depression alters your eating and sleeping patterns and makes your emotions run abnormally in mood swings and strong depression. Sälgvik’s title may refer to using the camera to communicate with her friend, understanding his difficulties visually rather than verbally or analytically.
Through these softly aesthetic images, we as viewers gather a sense of empathy that is slightly disturbed from the way Sälgvik photographs. The proximity of the camera to the subject is awkward; shot from the floor or obscured by a plant. We only have a glimpse of this person’s life, a fleeting glance into his unknown world, his left behind porridge bowl or his belongings spread across the living room floor. The subjects that Sälgvik documents become metaphoric, we connect with these almost banal household objects as the emotional traces that are left behind.

Phil Bedford


kristina.salgvik@gmail.com