Svante Gullichsen’s Best Photo: Naked in a Norwegian Waterfall

Last summer, I spent 10 days traveling through Norway with my partner. We toured Jotunheimen, a national park in the south criss-crossed with ravines, streams, and waterfalls. I had envisioned a particular image and Jotunheimen seemed the perfect location for it.

I wanted to photograph myself in the midst of a waterfall, but many of the ravines and waterfalls we passed were too dangerous. One day, on a small, unpaved road at quite high altitude, I spotted a couple of streams converging in this black expanse of water.

We stopped the car. I tested how slippery the rocks were and how cold the water was. Situated about 20 meters upstream from a very steep drop, this spot seemed safe. The stream was wide, and the darkness of the underlying rock framed my body perfectly.

I set up the camera for my partner and took my position in the stream. It took a few attempts to get it right. During one of those attempts, a bus drove past, and the passengers started cheering as I stood there naked in the waterfall.

This particular image captures how we are all subject to external forces that seem to erode us constantly. I wanted the viewer to question what the picture poses. Will he survive? Will he be swept away by the current? Or will he keep it together?

Making these images is a form of therapy for me. This one is taken from the third installment of a trilogy I’ve spent the last few years shooting that documents my struggles with mental health, specifically OCD. Each series captures a different phase: falling ill, going through therapy, and leaving behind the worst years of my life.

Even as a child, I found it extremely difficult to talk about what was going on inside my head or to communicate my emotions and needs. I started making these artworks because they served as an outlet for me.

At my worst, I was intensely anxious. But these stunts, whether in freezing cold water or suspended at high altitudes, provided brief moments of mental clarity. All I could focus on was the present moment. The extreme conditions made my anxiety feel justified, giving me a reason for it. After the stunts, I experienced a relieving blankness that I desperately craved during those times.

I don’t use nudity merely because it is interesting; it is also a way for me to be honest. Without clothes, there is nothing to protect yourself with. Aesthetically, I find it pleasing due to the contrast between the dark, hard rock or inky water against the warmth of human skin.

These works also explore the relationship between humans and the natural world. In Finland, my home country, we mythologize our connection to nature. Yet we have spoiled our lakes with eutrophication and felled old forests to feed the economy. My work is about building different relationships, both with myself during dark times and with the world in which we live. I position myself in nature not as a conqueror over it.

Last autumn, I held an exhibition in Helsinki showcasing the final installment of the trilogy. It marked the conclusion of years of work and the end of my time in therapy. It felt like a moment of recognition of how much better I felt in myself. It was a form of closure.

Source: The Guardian