Eksjö, Hjo, Nora. Three small, wooden towns in Sweden that create a distinctive image for themselves with the most Swedish things we have – beautiful wooden buildings erected by skilled craftsmen from the 18th century onwards; buildings beautifully painted in Falu ochre or linseed-oil paints with ochre, terra cotta or umber pigments.
It is a truism, which furthermore is accurate to the highest possible degree. These three towns have not created false fronts of an 18th or 19th century town. They are three towns living in the 21st century with roots and a building culture that have been well preserved for several centuries.
Inside the exteriors live the town’s residents. In sorrow and joy. In anxiety and idyll. The way most people live. There is always more than one truth, even about our three towns. Everything is not an idyll in an idyllic town. Sometimes it is beneficial to call into question one’s self-image.
By allowing three photographers from separate parts of Sweden a completely free hand in portraying our towns, we want to contribute yet another layer to all of the truths that make up a community – portrayals that we ourselves perhaps would not discover, or even want to discover.
