Norway

Of the Norwegian participants, two people seems slightly uneasy about submitting dust. Julius (N10) took a long time to submit his pack, and one of the reasons was that he struggled with the dust-sample. He wanted the dust to be ‘sophisticated’ (his words), and eventually gathered dust from his partner’s piano. From his reluctance to submit dust, I read that he found it perhaps embarrassing to submit dust, as it implies that his flat is not as clean as he would have wanted. This dust sample can open up for a discussion regarding status and resources, as well as what we might want to keep private and what we might be OK sharing in public. Linda (N3) seems less concerned with this issue and share dust from her bedroom.

Eivind (N11) also struggled with the dust sample. Because of chronic illness, he gets a cleaner through the city, and the cleaner is so thorough that there is no dust left – he explains. In this instance, the dust can open up for a larger discussion regarding health care and the welfare state, and what benefits are available. At the same time, the more his health deteriorates, the more Eivind describes feeling limited in his everyday life. His map, for instance, show where he walks on a daily basis, where he covers a large part of Oslo. When I speak with Eivind later in the fieldwork, he no longer walks so far, and feels frustrated and isolated, both with the lockdowns and his own health.