OPEN ECO: Halfdan Hallseth, Monument from the series Chernobyl (2020)

MONUMENT

On the floor of the unfinished cooling tower of Chernobyl’s Reactor 5, a tree grows through layers of concrete and decay. Built beside Reactor 4, the site bears the scars of one of history’s most devastating technological disasters. The tree becomes a Monument to Life – not one built by humans, but by nature itself. Its roots and branches quietly reclaim a place designed to control immense forces. In the face of the climate crisis, the image offers both a warning and a possibility: nature is remarkably resilient, but its survival should not be mistaken for permission to keep pushing its limits.

Halfdan Hallseth, born in Bergen, Norway, and of Danish-Icelandic descent, excels in the creative realm as an art and commercial photographer, filmmaker, and actor. He’s the owner of Fjord Productions, focusing on photography, commercials, and film projects from short films, feature films to TV series. He is represented worldwide as an actor by Jack & Jill Talent Agency, Amsterdam. He is represented by Midtun Dowling, Bergen, Norway as an artist.

Norway
www.halfdanhallseth.photography
@halfdanhallsethfineart