Written by Maria Ærø Nielsen and Jacqueline Winkler. Photos by Maria Ærø Nielsen
Get up at eight o’clock in the morning, have the necessary cup of coffee to wake up, go to university, study for the next exam, have dinner with your flatmates, brush your teeth and go back to bed. Just the usual, everyday life. It’s nothing special, but perhaps it could be?
Eight photographers from DNS’s photo club have tried to visualise and find that special thing in everyday life. The result was an exhibition from the 14th to the 17th of November in Galleri Neuf at Chateau Neuf. “This is kind of a concept we have every semester. It is called ‘Members exhibition’ which means it is just members of the photoclub”, explains Carl-Frederic Salicath, who is part of the organising team and one of the participating photographers.
Coming up with a topic is not always an easy task. “Usually we try to have open topics so that we can have lots and lots of photographers and as many people as possible can attend”, says Carl-Frederic, while showing some of the pictures. It is obvious that everyday life means something different for everyone. Some of the photographers chose to take pictures of their grandma, a train station, smokers, street life or a church. So their photos are about their own daily life. Others were more interested in the everyday routines of other people, like fishermen spending their day out in the deep blue sea in the South. Visitors got a lot of diverse perspectives on something that seems so boring like the life from day to day. “The pictures show everyday life in many different ways”, think Hege and Marte, two girls who were there to support one of the photographers.
The most difficult part of the work for the photographers is not taking the pictures, but rather deciding which ones to exhibit. Only three pictures per person were allowed to be hung in Galleri Neuf. According to Carl-Frederic, it is even painful. “You can think about having ten kids, all wanting to come to the amusement park. Among those ten kids some are friends, some do well together, others not. But you can only pick three of them and that is pretty much impossible. It’s called ‘kill the darlings’. We usually do not kill the kids, but we leave them at home”, he visualises the process.
All but two pictures were taken in black and white, which already lends a special touch to the everyday motives, as the viewers usually see the world in colours. Together with the simple, white environment of Galleri Neuf and the champagne served at the entry, the exhibition was sophisticated, classic and at the same time welcomed everybody with its relaxed, friendly atmosphere. It brought something special to the visitors’ everyday lives.