Artist
Iben Gad
Iben Gad (b. 1997) is a Danish documentary photographer based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her work deals with identity and personal stories and, in her work, she is experimenting with different formats such as archive material, photography, graphic elements and text.
In 2021 she graduated from the Danish School of Media and Journalism. She did an internship at the Danish daily Kristeligt Dagblad, studied abroad at Pathshala South Asian Media Institute in Bangladesh and participated in the Canon Student Development Programme at Visa Pour l’Image. Currently she is working as a freelance photographer.
To the unpopular girls
“A reaction. That’s probably what we were looking for. Depending on your reaction, we indirectly evaluated whether it was worth continuing or not. When you responded like you did, we evaluated that you were an easy victim.”
Through conversations with the bullies of my early teenage years, I’m trying to get a better understanding of a time period of my life. The project is driven by my curiosity to get to know what drove my bullies and how they reflect on that time period, and I’m seeking answers to the questions I’ve been asking myself throughout the years.
‘To the unpopular girls’ (2021) is a personal project about identity that explores social dynamics in my childhood. For this project I asked eight of my bullies if they wanted to meet me for a conversation and for a photo session too. The project takes form as a book and is built of interviews, portraits and archive material such as screenshots, photographs and paintings. Today the bullies are not involved in my life but I’m still sometimes nervous that they will start commenting on my photos or show up when I have to talk in groups. I spend a lot of time wondering who they are and what they come from. And do they remember me?
As a documentary photographer I’m interested in social dynamics and power structures in society and everyday life. I’m often pointing my attention towards eyes, hands and silent people, and both as a photographer and a person I find it interesting to visit places I’ve been before to see how things and our perceptions changes during time.
Iben Gad's work deals with identity and personal stories - though based in the documentary field, she has a remarkably quirky take on the discipline which deserves a certain attention. Her project about bullying, To the Unpopular Girls, shows personal courage and a refreshing multimedia approach to photojournalism.
Inuuteq Storch, based in Sisimiut, Greenland, makes work about his homeland that radiates a sensitivity to identity, human relations and belonging. His poetic imagery offers an uncensored portrait of a culture which for many centuries has been dominated by outsiders' perspective.
Luna Scales stands out for her persistent and kaleidoscopic investigation of the human body through photography and video performance. She is occupied with the codex between the viewer and the objectified body - and how language and the gaze become the defining measurement for perfection and beauty.
Oscar Scott Carl, a recent graduate of Photojournalism, is already a convincing visual storyteller. The core of his photographic practice is to engulf himself in long-term projects which reflect upon social injustice and transition in human relations.
Tina Bek's personal practice is complemented by commissions for the fashion industry: a combination that lends her the ability to create harmonic compositions. However beautiful, the beauty she conveys is often dislocated, forcing viewers' to recalibrate their expectations.