In these tough times we all feel more vulnerable. The frailty of our once comfortable lives has been exposed by the challenges of economic turmoil and social change.

So, it’s unsurprising we feel the need to pull together and protect ourselves. And, while the current climate seems contemporary, our response to such shocks is the same now as it’s always been – but capturing that human story requires more than meets the eye, as Henrik explains.

“The image you see was actually the result of two shoots. Firstly, I shot the background in Tenerife. Its volcanic terrain was perfect; sharp like razor blades and very inhospitable.

I chose it to get the sense of it being any time; now, years ago or years in the future. There’s nothing to suggest when it was taken. It would have looked the same 10,000 years ago as it does now and probably will in thousands of years’ time.

The thinking behind the image was all about protection. Contrasting the vulnerability of naked human bodies against a harsh and unforgiving environment. It’s something easily understandable. We can all connect to the fact they are vulnerable and trying to protect themselves.

The idea was to make it feel like a meeting. People planning what to do next. Getting together and communicating. That’s why I gave the image that structure. It’s an artificial shape showing the difference between the roughness of nature compared to people. Ultimately, we’re just a paragraph in time, fragile and fleeting so we must work together if we want to remain here over time.

You can see the same thing with animals huddling in similarly tough conditions. Think of a drying up riverbed where the fish end up coming together in the hope of surviving. It’s the same in the picture, reducing humanity to something truly basic and animal.

The preparations for the shoot has been on for almost half a year, and in February Henrik shot the location shots at Tenerife. At that time the ideas and layout was ready, and In collaboration with Art Director Gemma Fletcher and Choreographer Louise Seloy Henrik did the second part of the shoot at Ørestaden Copenhagen.

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