Line Ørnes Søndergaard (photo), Yohan Shanmugaratnam (text), BRUDDET (THE SPLIT), Forlaget Press (2021)

BOOK | Aleksandra from Lithuania works at a factory in England, is a single mom and has just fallen in love.  Albert is a retired fisherman, widower and ready for an uproar. They both reside in the same English town, but live totally separate lives. BRUDDET (the split) begins as the UK heads for a referendum that will shake the country, Europe and the world. In no other town did more inhabitants vote to leave the EU than in Boston, Lincolnshire. Photographer Line Ørnes Søndergaard and writer Yohan Shanmugaratnam follow Aleksandra, Albert and Boston from the time leading up to the referendum and through the following years of turbulence, until Brexit is fulfilled on January 1st, 2021. This is a story about borders opening and minds closing, about class and identity, about solidarity and distrust – and a love affair initiated in times of disruption.

BRUDDET is a reportage book that, through complementing photographic and literary parts, portrays a town that became the epicentre of one of the biggest political shocks in our time, and presents a close encounter with the people who live through the ripples. Since the book came out it has received flattering reviews.

Line Ørnes Søndergaard (b. 1986) is a documentary photographer working with social and political issues. Her intimate photographic approach has received attention in the photographic landscape and awarded at large; (a.o) Norwegian Picture of The Year, Picture Of the Year International, The Lucie Foundation and NPPA Best of Photojournalism award. Søndergaard has been selected for prestigious programs such as World Press Photo’s Joop Swartz Masterclass and Norwegian Journal of Photography and her work has been exhibited (a.o.) at Dokfestivalen in Fredrikstad, Fotografiens Hus in Oslo and Henie Onstad Center of the Arts. Søndergaard lives at Nesodden, Norway.

Yohan Shanmugaratnam  (b. 1979) is a foreign news journalist in the daily Klassekampen and the author of the critically acclaimed book Vi puster fortsatt (We are still breathing). This personal story about racism and roots in Norway and the world at large became an instant success and Aftenposten named it one of ten best books to be published in 2020. The last couple of years British politics, Brexit and related subjects have been his main field of coverage as a journalist, writer and panelist. Shanmugaratnam lives in Oslo, Norway.