Jannik Abel

Folkeskikk/Good Manners: Five Popular Movements – A Fight

Tromsø
04.06.26 — 25.10.26
Tre politibetjenter bærere en demonstrant kledt i rødt mellom seg. Kun den knytta neven til demonstranten vises.
About the exhibition
The term “folkeskikk”, which roughly translates to “good manners”, is often associated with social conventions: saying thank you at mealtimes, listening, showing consideration for others. In Jannik Abel’s practice, the term takes on a new meaning. Here “manners” is about an ethical responsibility, about responding to injustice with presence, care and action.

Art has a long history as a witness to the events of its time, and has since time immemorial been used to express opposition, inspire debate and challenge established truths. 

Through various visual expressions, artists have documented conflicts, challenged structures of powers and created space for alternative narratives. Photography, with its immediacy and its ability to capture situations in motion, has often been a tool of resistance. It is no accident that the use of cameras and photography is in many places regulated, or that images are confiscated -  a photograph can be a truth that is difficult to control. 

Over the last five years, Jannik Abel has worked at the intersection of documentation and activism. She has been present with her camera at over 135 protests and demonstrations in Norway and Sápmi. Through her lens she doesn’t just record the conditions, but also the rhythm of the crowd, the energy in the slogans, and the collective body that emerges when people gather in protest. 

The slogans are repeated as a refrain, regardless of place.

The fight continues. The state is breaking the law. Č-S-V (Show Sámi spirit). Let the river live. Let children live. Let the fjord live. Free Palestine. Leave the oil where it lies. No racists in our streets. We are the people – we will never give up. None are free until we all are free. 

At Nesodden, Abel has amassed an archive of almost 3,000 photographs from different popular movements. The archive functions are both documentation and as a visual testimony of the moment’s political and social tensions. 

This exhibition presents 150 of these images. 

Take time to look at them. It will take only 10 minutes. 

If you have more time, look at them again and let the images reveal new layers.