Jens Juul

1st Prize winner of the BBA Photography Prize 2021, Jens Juul is a street photographer based in Copenhagen whose black and white photographs of anonymous strangers portray the human condition at its most vulnerable point of truth. Trained as a painter at Billedskolen in Copenhagen as well as being trained as a portrait painter by the Spanish artist Artero Wiismundo, Juul transitioned from painting to pursue formal photographic training at Copenhagen’s Technical College where he graduated from in 2012. 

For Jens Juul, the camera and his range of technical skills are a means to capture the essence of human psychology and collate a collective visual statement of human instances. Blunt, almost savage, in their revelations and vulnerability, Juul’s images blur the lines between documentary, environmental portraiture, and fine art references. At times unforgiving, neither detail nor feeling escapes the lens of Juul’s camera to capture the core self of the individual.

“Making a good portrait is not about having the right equipment; it’s about having the right attitude. It’s 98% psychology and 2% artistic skills. What makes me able to take the pictures that I do is not so much the equipment I bring, but my ability – and desire! – to speak, ask questions, and do a lot of listening.”