Always curious and hungry for more, I was drawn to the nightlife - eccentricity and the promise that no dream is too big in Los Angeles. I found myself moving very spontaneously, like it was my last chance to save myself from settling with Swedish life. The country where Law of Jante – “You are not to think you're anyone special, or that you're better than us” - is still very much practiced. I was tired of the disapproval towards those who do things out of the ordinary, or are personally ambitious, and I was desperate to try to break free.

At a first glance, LA seemed to be full of smiling people talking about bright futures, with a very shiny surface often set to blind others. However, the surface seemed somewhat off, like it was put on in a haste, just like the paint on the walls of my new apartment. So, I started to pick on it, peeling one layer after another, until I made it to what was hidden behind. Loneliness, emptiness, and sometimes even despair was just as present here as it was back home. Instead of adding another layer of paint I chose to bring the darkness to light with a series of photographs. Each image narrates the collisions of imaginary private lives of my heroes, hinting at the conflicts and histories that led them to this moment. Through use of color and composition I monumentalize the characters, make them beautiful, admirable, even through their pain.