Liv Carlé Mortensen was born in 1970 -- right between the climax of Flower Power and the birth of Punk. Both movements have set their clear mark not only on her work but also on her life. And they still provide useful analytical stepping stones for herself as well as for anyone wishing to delve into her artwork. There is at the core of Liv Carlé Mortensen's artworks an almost naïve earthbound spirituality. She draws her artistic inspiration not so much from abstract concepts or prevailing artistic trends as from those concrete elements of life she finds right next to her. Very broadly spoken her art is a chronicle of her life, told with all artistic means available. Unrestrained by genres -- and maybe this is where the punk-element comes in -- her photographs range from the documentary through the staged to the almost painterly digitally manipulated. And she brings into her work every artistic technique at hand to achieve her means, not limiting herself to specific media but rather mixing everything. The concrete occurrences of her own experience with family, lovers, birth and death are channeled through her own anger and fear, desperation and joy and are thereby transformed into sublime manifestations of her world. Consequently her art becomes inseparable from her life. The works trace the artist's presence in the world, but by their inherent spirituality they transcend the banality and specificity always threatening to take the upper hand in the diary-note and attain a symbolic universality. They are not merely depictions of one person's woes and worries but universal reflections on the human condition. Liv Carlé Mortensen's photographic works have often been perceived as provocative. And it is true that her depictions of the darker sides of life, splattered with menstrual blood, semen and faeces and steeped in violent emotion, at first glance can appear shocking to say the least. Also her use of religious symbols seems to run the risk of provoking reactions not inferior in strength to those spurred by the infamous Muhammad-drawings. But the aim of the works is not provocation in itself. By provoking these strong feelings in the viewer she finds a shortcut that allows her to speak directly to the heart of anyone watching. One specific aspect that has provoked especially strong reactions is the way she involves her two sons [navne] in her art. A natural consequence of her working method and artistic concerns, it has nonetheless been perceived as inappropr