Will you play with me?

Growing up in isolation alongside a national park in Northern Sweden, I often had to turn to my imagination in the absence of neighbouring kids. Stepping on the thread between dreams and reality, the lakes and forests became my place of discovery, of playfulness and of expression. I would spend time talking with the trees, imagining all the life in the forest turning into a voice; a voice in which I found comfort, urging me to be myself. This feeling of unconditionality and ability of listening to silence has followed me into adulthood. It has allowed me to stay open, to stay curious and to feel free in being alone. Because, in the end, I never am.

The photograph was taken at the edge of Skuleskogen National Park, Sweden. This wooden castle has drifted in the same spot for as long as I can remember as it so often caught my eye when I passed it on my way to school. During a misty autumn afternoon, I felt the urge of capturing it.