Four Weeks A Year

Four Weeks A Year explores the idea of a society where we are living two parallell lives; one that is dictated by a biological clock and one that controlled by societal expectations.

In one of the world's happiest countries, more than one-third of the population is experiencing some variation of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Yet there is a common misconception that this is a direct cause of lack of daylight. I had this misconception. Trying to capture this idea in photographs, I put all the blame on the suffocatingly gloomy weather and named the series SAD. I wanted to call attention to the issue and open up a discussion about this still stigmatized topic. In retrospect, this observation was only reinforcing this misconception further.

Seasonal depression is a phenomenon that reaches far beyond the hours of daylight over the year. Sure this is a part of the problem, but we are living two parallel lives that cannot coexist. We live in a society that expects us to work the same pace all year round and take time off in the summer to seize the only few weeks a year that is considered enjoyable. On the other hand, we are following a biological schedule that encourages us to embrace the longer days and begs us to slow down as daylight is getting more and more limited. Seasonal depression affects, and depends on, our way of living all year around. SAD is not about short days and cloudy skies. It is an endless cycle of minor burnout, performance anxiety, and unreasonable expectations. Because only in one of the world's happiest countries, our happiness depends on "Four Weeks A Year."