18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Mobile
Room With A Perfect View

I had made friends with a random stranger who helped me a great deal that also made some recommendations on places to go around Oslo. One of them was Ekebergparken Skulpturpark, and the theme of this trip to Norway in 2019 was to visit all the places I apparently missed while I lived there a full half a year thirteen years prior. The night was coming on, clouds had filled the sky and the sunset was long gone. There was one last spot that looked intriguing. There was a small gate or chain saying that the space was closed and not really thinking about it...I walked right in. Much to my surprise and that of those inside, there was a private event. I didn't really realize what was going on but as I was being told basically that it was closed, I turned to leave and then was offered a chance to stay. I had walked into an experimental performance of students finishing graduate degrees. It was performed in the dark, with walls that changed colors, those of us listening sitting on the floor under blankets. It was amazing. Afterwards I finished what I had actually set forth to do, which was just see the rest of the underground building. Here, the ceiling simply opened up to the sky overhead. A room with an uninterrupted view of the heavens. It was a wonderfully solitary way to digest a wonderfully strange evening.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 05.2019
Date Uploaded: 10.2020
Photo Location: Norway
Camera: iPhone SE
Copyright: © Ian Hanson