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Every year, just after Midsummer, near the affluent residential area of Höllviken, Sweden, hundreds of dedicated urban Vikings take over the historic Viking village of Foteviken. Reenactors from around the world—Germans, Americans, Australians—come together during this one week and devote themselves to recreating the historical aspects of Viking life as authentically as possible.
Although they aim to live, eat and sleep as the Vikings did during the long-ago Viking Age, sometimes it is hard not to become tempted by the luxuries of the present era. Just outside of the village of Foteviken, there is a large mall near the spot where the famous Battle of Foteviken took place in 1134. Locals have become accustomed to shopping with women wearing swords and eating burgers with men in Viking helmets.
With his ongoing series of portraits of the urban Viking, Johan Bavman shows both the humor and beauty of encountering ancient Vikings in everyday life.
JOHAN BÄVMAN is a Swedish photographer. He published the book Albino—In the Shadow of the Sun (2009). His project “Swedish Dads” has been exhibited widely.
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