Julius: ‘I will miss how Earth has had time to breath.’ Oslo, Norway
Julius is a middle-aged man who works in finance and lives in one of the blocks at Enerhaugen in Oslo. He is concerned that it has taken him too long to complete and return the pack to me. He explains that the photography tool has taken longer than expected. When asked to photograph a sound that he dislikes, he immediately thought of the siren of an ambulance. To him, there is something unnerving about the sound of an ambulance. Whereas the siren of a police car could be a response to many kinds of situations, the ambulance siren signals that a person is ill and in need of rescue. When asked about the sounds he experiences in the blocks of flats where he lives, he explains that renovations can be an issue. The sound of drilling from neighbouring flats can be intense, to the point that it is unbearable to be inside the flat. Several participants in the project describe how lockdowns and furlough have led to more people being in their home, many conducting renovations.
It was difficult to photograph an ambulance, as they move quickly, and eventually Julius walked down to the nearby AE to catch an ambulance departing or returning. He was proud with his shot and returned the camera. But the photograph in question was not processed or captured correctly, and the envelope of film that I received did not contain any photographs of ambulances. Julius and I discussed this issue on several occasions, and I was eventually able to find a new disposable camera for him. We decided to meet at the AE where Julius photographed an ambulance from different angles. He wanted to capture the ambulance in a way that was dramatic, using camera angles that showed how threatened and unwell he felt when hearing the sound of its siren.
