Tørkesommer

Tørkesommer: (Norwegian, noun) Summer with major drought.

This photo series is an ode to the different seasons. 

Scenic drives to nowhere turned into walks in the rain - the first rain of the summer. Fall was greeting us with the water which all the plants and flowers had been yearning for. 

We arrived at 11.07. We walked barefoot among white clover and willow herb, which seemed to be the only flowers to survive the heat. rain hit 11.48. 

This roadtrip to marka, took place the day after my return after 4 weeks spent in another country. The first thing I noticed when arriving back home, was that the grass had the color of faded yellow. Our lawn, which usually is more than a meter high, after a month away, had not grown much higher than before we left. Even my gandmother's garden, that she cares for so fondly, had started to lose color.

The drought has affected crops around the whole country, and the farmers consequently struggle to get enough feed for their animals. It has been declared the worst drought in the country since 1947.

Marka is the name of any forested areas that surround a city or town. In Norway these are like sacred places.

In the winter we ski, in the spring we bike, in the fall we walk and camp there. Marka is the place where people go to breathe and take a break from everything. This summer we've witnessed our sacred space burning and lose its fruitfulness. 

Dear seasons, we should never take you for granted. And I'm so deeply sorry that we did.

Shot by Nora Marie, model: Martine