{"id":80504,"date":"2018-10-26T11:45:07","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T09:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lesaint.abvent.com\/?post_type=serie&p=80504"},"modified":"2020-08-26T11:47:28","modified_gmt":"2020-08-26T09:47:28","slug":"in-absence-2018","status":"publish","type":"serie","link":"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/serie\/in-absence-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"In Absence, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Series<\/a><\/p>\n

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In Absence, 2018<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n

Monika Macdonald<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div><\/section>\n

The headlights cut through the darkness, we are on our way. Away from the everyday, away from the daily grind, perhaps away from ourselves, for a while. To what? Or whom Perhaps we don\u2019t know. Towards something else; that\u2019s what matters. How to live your life, and for whom?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a universal question, but as the years pile up I often think that it\u2019s extra complicated for women. Historically, we live in emancipated times: in Sweden, women are free to do whatever they want with their lives. Having said that, being a woman means constantly navigating the intricate system of norms and expectations that permeates the time in which we live. Breaking the norms has become the norm, but you have to keep an ear to the ground to know which norms we are talking about.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>

Sexual liberty has been sanctioned by our contemporary age, but certain types of sexuality are regarded as more liberated than others. Hypocrisy and prudery are still present in the public discussion, even though Sweden is one the most secular countries in the world. Can you live only for your own sake? Only for someone else\u2019s sake? What are you allowed to desire? By whom are you allowed to want to be desired? What does it mean to be a good mother? What kind of life is considered compatible with motherhood?<\/p>\n

Happiness, as it is presented in lifestyle magazines, weekend supplements and on Facebook, almost always looks identical. In this liberated age there are no musts. Still, many people choose exactly the same things. It is easy to believe that some free choices are freer than others.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>

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The title of Monika Macdonald\u2019s exhibition, In Absence, can be read in different ways. It may be about a non-negative absence, where that which is absent is not necessarily something one misses. It may even harbour something good: People can grow stronger and clearer in the absence of something, as when you chop down an old spruce and the vegetation around it receives more light and nutrition and a new chance to bloom. And it may be about a very real sense of loss. About grief and longing.<\/p>\n

I imagine that the women in Monika Macdonald\u2019s photographs are located in a borderland between freedom and loneliness, a place you easily end up in when you begin to explore life\u2019s endless possibilities. Several of the women are mothers, and I don\u2019t think they would be happy to be labelled only as such. They would not consider \u201cmother\u201d to be a complete identity.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>

And that\u2019s how I look at the dark, moving, dirty, beautiful, uningratiating collection of images that is this exhibition: As an exploration of ways of becoming a whole human being, a complex human being, and, not least, allowing yourself to be just that. A striving for an existence that comprises both light and darkness, another layer, beyond the everyday. An existence where something is risked. A place for events that are not displayed on social media to be subjected to the likes of one\u2019s friends.<\/p>\n

I pause in front of the photo of a woman who is parting her hair and exposing her neck. Her face is not visible. Exposed to the viewer, she projects an impression of pride and vulnerability at the same time. A head held high, revealing the weak spot: the neck is where wolves and vampires attack, where the blade of the guillotine falls. The image contains an insight: in order to abandon yourself to something, anything, your have to make yourself vulnerable.<\/p>\n

Dare to step into the unknown even though you\u2019re afraid.<\/p>\n

Take a ride in the car even though you\u2019re not sure where it\u2019s going.<\/p>\n

Therese Bohman, Swedish author and art critic.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>

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Serie | <\/span> The headlights cut through the darkness, we are on our way. Away from the everyday, away from the daily grind, perhaps away from ourselves, for a while. To what? Or whom Perhaps we don\u2019t know. Towards something else; that\u2019s what matters. How to live your life, and for whom?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":80501,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[4022,12480],"photographe":[11562],"section_taxonomy":[5484],"yoast_head":"\nIn Absence, 2018 - Agence VU'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In Absence, 2018 - Agence VU'\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Serie | The headlights cut through the darkness, we are on our way. Away from the everyday, away from the daily grind, perhaps away from ourselves, for a while. To what? Or whom Perhaps we don\u2019t know. Towards something else; that\u2019s what matters. How to live your life, and for whom?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Agence VU'\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/VUagence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-08-26T09:47:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/00_MAC22419-2016CL01.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"203\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"290\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@agence_vu\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Agence VU'\",\"description\":\"Agency of photographers founded in 1986\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/00_MAC22419-2016CL01.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/00_MAC22419-2016CL01.jpg\",\"width\":203,\"height\":290,\"caption\":\"Sweden, Stockholm, 2013-2016 From series \\\"In Absence\\\". Su\\u00cbde, Stockholm, 2013-2016 Issue de la s\\u00c8rie \\\"In Absence\\\". Monika Macdonald \/ Agence VU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"#webpage\",\"url\":null,\"name\":\"In Absence, 2018 - Agence VU'\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-26T09:45:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-26T09:47:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[null]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/home\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/home\/\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/serie\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/serie\/\",\"name\":\"Series\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"#webpage\"}}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie\/80504"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/serie"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie\/80504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80504"},{"taxonomy":"photographe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/photographe?post=80504"},{"taxonomy":"section_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agencevu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section_taxonomy?post=80504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}