At a time when the slightest hint of boredom is displaced by the mobile phone, it seems like madness to immerse oneself in local political documents. Yet there they sit. The elected representatives. Hour after hour after hour. While the world around them becomes polarised and democratic values come under pressure in more and more countries, Norwegian municipal politicians continue to negotiate. About the location of speed bumps and road signs. About land use plans, budgets and school structures. If you look closely, you can see the beauty in all this. In democratic meetings in town halls, gymnasiums or assembly halls, among extension cords, stacks of chairs and crooked pictures. According to The Economist Democracy Index 2024, Norway is the most democratic country in the world.
For the project, photographer Adrian Øhrn Johansen attended 50 municipal council meetings, mainly in municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. The images were photographed in the period 2018-24.
The text on the front cover is a Winston Churchill quote, dated 11 November 1947.
50 color images • Editing: Gösta Flemming, Adrian Øhrn Johansen • Design: Gösta Flemming • Hard cover • 245 x 183 mm • 72 pages • Final art: Johan Lindberg • Prepress and printing: Narayana Press • Book bindery: S. R. Büge • Two editions: English ISBN 978-91-87939-85-3 and Norwegian ISBN 978-91-87939-84-6 • 2025
