The Characters

The Characters is a retrospective book by Tonje Bøe Birkeland, that holds together her projects from the past eight years. Birkeland’s work explores the authenticity of history through self-portraits that recreate expeditions of female explorers and heroines from the past. Each of The Charactersmakes its own meta-journey: through Spitsbergen, Greenland, Mongolia and the mountains of Norway. These photographs expound time and place, while investigating personality and physical limits. Birkeland demonstrates that fantasy and photography can fill a void in history, while revealing some of contemporary society’s challenges: globalized colonization on the one hand and the loss of the great adventure on the other. The book is printed in 300 copies, each numbered by hand. The book was awarded Silver in the annual award “Årets Vakreste Bøker” (Photo/Art book) in 2016 (the year it was published).

“When you come across something, something old, as you touch it, you touch time. The air around your face carries the scent of an era, not of old and fungus but of body, powder, leather, perfume, gasoline: all the things that were there. All these unnecessary necessities that fill our lives, things that filled lives then. As you take hold of the object, you’re afraid of breaking it. Still you don’t want to let go. You inspect and sense: look, stroke, push, bend, turn and tilt. If it is wearable, you put it on. You search for the nearest mirror, making this thing a part of you.” 

Specifications - Hardcover. 260 pages.