Aarhus & Hygge
2018
hygge
/ˈh(j)uːɡə,ˈhʊɡə/noun
a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture).
In 2018 I went to study at the Danish School of Media and Journalism.
Class often went from 9-5 every day. It seemed at times, especially close to assessment due dates — that we lived on campus, in classrooms, hallways and computer labs. There was an apartment the school owned where some of us slept. It had played host to many journalism students over the years.
We weaved our assignments into countless hours exploring the city. Some were homesick while others thrived on being on the other side of the world. We made a magazine and had a launch party. Marcel crashed his bike and mine was stolen. Having a beer in a classroom after dark while finishing assignments and scanning film was encouraged by lecturers. Every Friday the student bar opened in the basement.
When we arrived the days were long and warm, by Christmas it was snowing and dark before getting home.
These photographs laid dormant while I pieced together what the experience meant to me. The school had a reputation for producing good photographers, but studying in Denmark made me question good photographers, or photographs, even more. It made me come to terms with the role and value of images in my life and that perhaps these values weren’t neccessarily what I had initially thought.
I’m not certain if I got better at photography, but I sure as hell had fun.
In the end, none of these photographs were used for any assignment. But they are the ones that have stayed with me the longest.
They serve as a photographic diary of the time I had in Denmark.
