Picture what words cannot say

Society teaches us that if we are different, there is something wrong with us. For most, there is a pressure from outside to look a certain way, to be a certain way. There is always an ideal to live up to, whether it comes to appearance, mindset or behaviour. But despite social rules, we have a choice and a right to express ourselves in any way we may want or need to.Norwegian artist Nora Savosnick has felt this pressure by society since she was at school. In most academic institutions, we are taught to convey thoughts through words on paper... for every 'mistake' to be corrected by a red marker.That might not bother everyone, but for Nora, who had a learning disability, it was difficult to express herself.Not until she discovered the camera and the power of photography, did she have the means or the instruments to get her thoughts out.“Imagine if you could have used different techniques of expressing yourself in school. Imagine how much easier it would have been for someone like me who’s dyslexic to use photos instead of words to convey my thoughts,” Nora says.Photography was a recent discovery for her and it was a revelation to find a new way for expression: “Whenever I write, there is this focus on everything having to be right because you always get corrected. But with photos, which I feel that I manage better, I continue to develop and challenge myself in such a different way.”Nora respects writing as an art form, but she simply wants other ways to communicate too. Photography is something she understands, and that has made it easier for her to learn and share knowledge. What many often forget is that art is a way of knowledge too. She finds that a picture is much more freeing than a text. It is easier to share and to engage people with because, as she explains, “the minute you use words, you create sentences that the reader has to follow along with. But when you are using a picture, [the audience] has the opportunity to create the experience [themselves]. And I think that is the power of it.”

Although Nora has found a better way to express herself to society, being an artist in Norway today is hard. If you go to an exhibition, there are few works by Norwegian artists, especially young ones. If you are not already an established artist, there are few doors open. The gallery will not profit from showing your art if you don’t have a name in the industry yet. But Nora has never taken no for an answer. Instead she has created a path for herself. Whenever people have closed the doors on her, she has gone and done it herself. “There aren’t any challenges except for the ones that you create for yourself. It’s not like everything is served to you on a silver platter, it never has been.” To her, it is important to keep working for it. It is easier to give up than to try again, but it will not get you anywhere.There still exists an ideal in society that we aspire to be like, but many, such as Nora, are starting to break out of their insecurities by finding their own way to express themselves. Nora is still changing and developing, which is what is important to her when it comes to photography. Although she might still feel pressure from outside, she is trying not to be shaped by society, but break out of the confines of it instead. Nora and her sister grew up with a family that lived by the saying, “Teach girls bravery, not perfection.” This has taught her that instead of trying to live up to a certain ideal, the important thing is to be brave enough to stand for whatever you believe in. And that is an important lesson for us all. Find out more about Nora Savosnick:WebsiteFacebookInstagram