International Photographers' Stage: Henrik Saxgren
Experience one of Denmark's most significant photographers, Henrik Saxgren, as he talks about the memoir "Med Egne Øjne" (With One's Own Eyes).
Saxgren has travelled all over the world, been to the hottest hot spots, documented the greatest poverty and met some of the world's greatest leaders. Now he has also written about his own life, where he tells about his work, his art and the lifestyle that follows through 150 photographs. During the conversation you can experience Saxgren's powerful images while he tells us about the stories and realisations he has made while working on the book.
The book testifies to a life journey where photography has been the guiding force for a creative urge driven by unrest, curiosity and a sharp eye. Saxgren has always thrown himself into any situation, whether it was with the hunters and trappers in northernmost Greenland, in rebellious Nicaragua, the ravaged Middle East or events in his own life, in his book he gives his honest memories without sparing himself.
Photography, people and our cultural heritage
Whether it was the squatters' fight against the authorities, suicide bombers in Gaza, child prostitutes in Nicaragua or supermodel Renée Toft Simonsen, who studied psychology, Saxgren has had an unmistakable love for reproducing the lived life. As a result, his works also remain as part of our common cultural heritage - and as a reminder of how closely photography, life and the gaze are connected.
As Dorte Hygum Sørensen describes in Politiken:
Henrik Saxgren has not only influenced Danish photography for half a century. He has also helped to shape the development of photography.
Cast
Henrik Saxgren trained as a photographer in the advertising field in 1974 but quickly switched from advertising to reportage photography. Henrik Saxgren has, among other things, made reportages from the Soviet Union, USA, Nicaragua, South Korea, Israel, Gaza and northern Greenland. Saxgren's works have been exhibited at ARoS Kunstmuseum, Skagens Museum, the Danish Art Foundation and the National Museum of Photography, among others. Saxgren has also won a number of awards, including Photographer Of The Year, Denmark, in 1985 and 1988 and the Danish Photography Award of Honor in 2017.
