Jens Juul: Six Degrees of Copenhagen

Six Degrees of Copenhagen is an ongoing series that winner of the 2021 BBA Photography Prize, Jens Juul, has been developing for 10 years. Part documentation, part social examination, and part artistic portraiture, the harsh and unrelenting photographs highlight the beauty of the human condition by bringing the viewer into close acquaintance with the private lives of strangers, Jens Juul’s first solo exhibition in Berlin is part of the 10th European Month of Photography.

The ongoing series is inspired by the six degrees of separation theory that states people are no more than six social connections apart. Jens Juul asks the strangers he photographs to recommend a friend, thus passing the baton. Six Degrees of Copenhagen breaks social boundaries in two significant ways: when Juul approaches a stranger to ask whether he can photograph them, and when, in the private sphere of the individual’s home, he captures a singular vulnerable moment. Jens Juul’s portraits are a beautiful reminder of our shared humanity and are encapsulated in his new book.