Boy Stories is a project by Swedish photographer based in Stockholm Johan Willner who, through his images, shows us his childhood memories. It’s natural to wonder if these scenes are the result of the artist’s memory faithful reconstruction or the result of his imagination. The focal point of his research is one of photography key themes that has always been discussed: what is photographed, is real?

Like every interesting project, Boy Stories has been thought down to the smallest detail, since every memory is represented with well-designed photographic sets, but this does not weaken his story, which fits perfectly in the middle between reality and fiction, generating doubts. This ambiguity makes the photographic language one of the most interesting because everyone can choose in which way represent reality. The protagonists are relatives and family members, often captured in difficult moments of their lives, like the scene that shows the artist’s father, hospitalized in a psychiatric ward.

The whole project is characterized by a veil of typically Scandinavian melancholy and solitude, with cold and slightly dramatic tones, while scenes composition reminds of Kubrick.