Rain, Oslo

About the series “Rain, Oslo”: “When weather and the seasons show their power, I tend to rush out to the streets. Give me snow, wind, hail, fog, rain and thunder – they all remind me that the forces of nature are still stronger than us. We can’t control those elements, so full of surprises and unpredictability. To me there’s something special about rain, it just makes me feel good. Rain has been used as a common symbol in the literature, like to set an emotional tone or to symbolize a deeper insight in a character’s emotions. Or just to make people bring out a wider range of emotions. Rain has the power to protect and renew life, but also to devastate. I could easily proclaim myself as a “pluviophile”, meaning a lover of rain; someone who finds joy and peace during rainy days. But there is more than joy and piece – wondering the city streets shooting pictures in the rain, I can feel the rain’s drama and power, and its ability to affect people. The visual scenes of the city change when it’s raining, in an interesting way – there are umbrellas, people running for shelter, children playing in the rain, and the cityscapes look different. I think that an interesting property of the rain is its ability to change a familiar landscape or scene into something unrecognizable. My series “Rain, Oslo” is a series of black and white pictures, shot in my home town Oslo. The series is a result of my love for exploring the urban landscapes, for the city of Oslo, and for rainy days. It’s a celebration of the way my home city could feel like during a rainy day”. © Merethe Wessel-Berg