Sagnir, Faroese legends

When I arrived in the Faroe Islands, these lands located between Iceland and Norway, in 2021, I was struck by the omnipresence of tales. On the edge of the vertiginous cliffs, we find countless sea creatures, lugubrious testimonies undoubtedly due to the force of the tides and storms. Very linked to the nature to which this isolated people was subjected over the centuries, the stories of these characters transmit various messages to readers. Like “We cannot force Love” of the seal woman (Giana) who chooses freedom or “Everyone has the right to live” of the princess of Nólsoy (Katja), who fights for life despite the rejection of his difference.

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I wanted to observe the impact of these stories on Faroese children. Told for decades by their parents and grandparents to scare them, make them aware of the impetuous climate in which they grow up and how it will color their outlook on life. It was at a second-hand store in the small town of Runavik in June 2021 that I met Anna-Maria Olsen, teacher of a CM1 class, it was then that we embarked on a project with her students. We proceed in four stages and over a year: reading the tales, assigning the roles, creating costumes and finally staging in the different places where the legends take place, with the film camera in 4x5' format.

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Over the months I was able to observe the children appropriating these tales and their values, deepening their critical opinions, developing particular affinities, identifying with certain powers or qualities of these characters, as supports allowing them to build a magnified image of who they want to be. More than a transmission, this photo project becomes a visual testimony of this rich heritage.

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