2018–2021

BOOK BOX
2021

2018–2021 is a project I made for myself to be able to look back and remember the three eventful years I spent in Bergen, Norway. The purpose of the project is that I, whenever I want throughout my life, will be able to read, look at, smell, feel and relive the memories of the places, events and people that made this memorable time what it was.

The project consists of a time capsule in the shape of a handbound velvet box that contains eight riso printed elements that in different ways express important aspects of my stay.

The appearance of the time capsule is meant to depict how the people I have gotten to know during my stay have described me; dark, mystical and soft. All parts of the project have been thoughtfully developed by me to show how I myself shaped my time in Bergen, as well as the person I have become during my time.

My wish is that my way of collecting and packaging my memories will be able to inspire others to more actively preserve their own memories.



Var (be) consists of 130 of the images I took of myself during my three years in Bergen. With this element I can relive this time and all its ups and downs. The element is an intimate meeting with myself and how I changed throughout my stay.


In Gå (walk) I depicted the buildings I have spent the most time in and that have affected me the most during my stay. This element is a hand drawn map of my Bergen, and the places that made me feel at home.

In the element Möt (meet) I have collected testimonies from the people I have met in Bergen describing their relationship with me. The cards in the index have one side showing my memories with these people, and another side showing theirs, complete with photographs.

Drick (drink) is an element that represents the relationship I had with a specific bar that became the meeting place for me and most of my friends. This relationship was motley and nonlinear, something I tried to show through the design of the element.


The element Dofta (scent) helps me, through the scent of the perfume I used my first year in Bergen, to revisit and feel the courage that scent gave me to be able to take on each day. The scent is contained within a small box.

The element Lyssna (listen) consists of a playlist with 115 songs that in the strongest way describe my stay in Bergen. The songs are categorised in an order where each song is associated with either the memory of a specific person or an event.

In the element Läs (read) I have collected journal entries from both the first months of my stay as well as the last. Through daily scribbles and sketches I can remember how I in my own words depicted the beginning and the end of my stay.


The element Bo (live) consists of a detailed foldable model of my bedroom, where I slept, cried, laughed, ate, froze, sweated, stressed and lived. The model is hand drawn and made to scale, with detailed descriptions of all the objects I owned.
© Matilda Erika Strandberg 2021