Let`s talk about nipples

Tell us shortly why you waited so long to share your art for others? Oh, I used to be so insecure. And I thought that I had no business trying to pretend I was an artist or that I had talent in the profesion of photography. But luckily I finally got my act together and started doing and learning something that I am so passionate about.

When did you get the idea of making it into this exhibition ? When I am creating a project I like to have an idea about how I want to present it. My project on the female nipple was something that I imagined as an exhibition right from the start. I would actually love to do a solo exhibition where the female nipple is the star, I have so many ideas on how to contine this nipple journey that I am on.

And then, we have to talk about your fascination for nipples. LET ́S talk about nipples, YES! Well I never thought nipples could be so fascinating, but here I am still talking about them and photographing them, months after I started the project. It all started in a class at Bilder Nordic school of photography, where we were supposed to study and photograph an object. I chose the female nipple as an object, it is after all the most objectified part of the female body. The idea was not that all women should walk around topless, nor is it a display of sexuality. My point was that our culture promotes denigrating, sexually objectifying images of women everywhere. While simultaneously barring women from freely using their bodyes as they want. This is a symbol of patriarchal power and supression of women ́s speech.

How many nipples have you been photographed- and for how long? I have photographed nipples on about 60 women, sometimes one of their nipples and sometimes both. Some of my female friends have actually lend me their nipples sooo many times while I was figuring out the best way to photograph this small part of our body.

You tell stories about women for women- how did you get those women to be part of your art? It of course helps that I am a woman myself. But I think that they feel that I am passionate about these projects.

You are a mom of 3 kids, this might be personal, but are you part of the art- are any of the pictures selfportraits? Yes, I guess everything I create is in a way a selfportrait, it reflects something I feel, see or dont understand.

You are originally from Iceland, when did you move to Oslo? I moved to Oslo 5 years ago from Toulouse in south of france. And to be honest I was not excited at all. But boy was I wrong. Oslo is amazing and fashionable and Norwegians do more than just skiing (This last one is for the Icelanders that have made some assumptions about Norway, like me maybe)

Berglind Rögnvalds is an Icelandic camera based artist, living in Oslo. She engages the audience with a feministic voice, and her works are usually focused on women and their stories. In her works Berglind has previously tackled issues such as the female nipple, the #metoo campaign, medias obsessions with sexualizing the female body and finally motherhood. As a mother to three she feels very connected to the female body and empowered by its organic force and beauty. Being a native Icelander Berglind has a strong attachment and deeply rooted respect for nature, which she shows throughout her work.