Bjørn

1st place in Professional Photographer of the Year 2011

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:15:15 +0000

Professional Photographer of the year 2011 was announced today. 1st place in the Sporting Action category went to a photograph I took in Acapulco, Mexico. It was chosen along 15 other winners among 6300 entries from all over the world. Visit Professional Photographer’s website to see a the complete list of winners.

The Arctic farm

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:43:54 +0000

In the midst of the Greenlandic summer 2011, my shoes soaked through by a constant drizzle, I followed a gang of 11 Greenlanders harvesting potatoes for three days. From early morning till late night they would be in the field digging and picking, while ice floes majestically passed us by in the Sermilik Fjord. The photographs are the first in my series about the Greenlanders, which again will be part of a greater work tracking cause and consequence of climate change transglobally. Potato farming in Greenland became profitable few generations ago, when the temperature rose sufficiently for the crops to grow big.

Tulun featured in publication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:59:32 +0000

The full feature can be found on pages 24 – 29 in the publication here. And a few lines in English along with a more substantial series of photographs from my project about the Tulun people’s climate-induced migration are found here.

Research trip to Southern Greenland

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 13:32:19 +0000

September 1st I returned from a 10 day research trip to Southern Greenland. The country has long found itself in a state of cultural limbo due to its post colonial realm, and recently climate change related factors has further accelerated the decline of their traditional culture. Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark and still dependent on block grants after 32 years of home rule. Generations of Greenlanders have lived under Danish influence but somehow managed to preserve their national identity, which is closely knit to the tradition of hunting from the sea ice. Today this tradition is also challenged by climate change.

My first trip to Greenland marked the beginning of a journey that will take me through settlements and towns on the Greenlandic coasts in the years to come. I will follow the Greenlanders in their search for a sustainable and independent future, and it is my hope that the days, weeks and months spend in their company will help me better understand the social costs and opportunities linked with the Greenlandic transformation. The photographs, notes and memories I collect will make up the second leg in my envisioned trilogy, which explores the new bonds tied by climate change between people living thousands miles apart. Part one of the trilogy, which is still in the workings, is the story about the Tulun people in the South Pacific, who are struggling to stay above water.

Neft Daşları / Oil Rocks

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:40:35 +0000

Morning on Neft Daşları (Oil Rocks) – an offshore oil city in the Caspian sea built under Stalin in 1949. Its oil wells are still producing oil after more than 60 years of service. Three high-rise buildings accommodate a rotating population of 2500 people and the offshore community has its own bakery, park and museum. I took the photograph below during my short visit July 2011.

Copenhagen Photo Festival

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 07:48:27 +0000

SIdste chance for at se Tulun-udstillingen i Kulturhuset på Islands Brygge 18 i dag.

Last chance to see the Tulun exhibition today in Kulturhuset at Islands Brygge 18, Copenhagen, Denmark.

YouTube Music recommends CHLLNGR video

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 20:09:34 +0000

“Ask For” featured on the front page of YouTube Music (worldwide) today.

CHLLNGR video premiere on Altered Zones

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Fri, 27 May 2011 20:34:01 +0000

The first video for CHLLNGR’s (a.k.a. Steve Borth II) forthcoming album titled Haven was premiered at Altered Zones today. The video was for most part filmed during two summer nights in the woods west of Copenhagen, Denmark and is my first attempt with the music video genre. The song is titled Ask For.

Stars above Huene

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:10:41 +0000

November 14 2009 I stayed on Huene – the smallest island on the Tulun Atoll in the South Pacific. During night time the low tide would uncover two patches of sea floor stretching from the island inwards to the lagoon. I walked as far out as I could without getting my feet wet and left a camera to photograph Huene every 6th second for the next few hours.

At the End

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 12:20:41 +0000

At the End is the story about a group of people living at the southern end of Copenhagen’s harbour. They have a laid back life style and do not seem to care too much about modern commodities or way of living. I spend a few weeks photographing in their small community called Nokken (signifying “at the end”) and the story was published in the Danish magazine Ældresagen NU yesterday. The tear sheets from the magazine are viewable in full screen in the portfolio.

Feature on the skinhead cult published in Chili Magazine

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:28:53 +0000

A feature about the skinhead cult, which I have been working on since 2006, was published for the first time in Chili Magazine (Denmark) this month. Usually skinheads have been associated with racism in the broader public, but less than half of the world’s skinheads are right extremists. In fact they are black, white, Asian and homosexuals, and that is the story I want to tell with my pictures. Young skinheads of British and Jamaican decent were also the reason reggae became popular in the western world after they adopted its predecessor – Jamaican ska music. Skinheads are one of the oldest youth cults still alive today and they idolize working class virtues, watch football and listen to ska, northern soul and oi music. According to Archiv der Jugendkultur there are some 10.000 skinheads in Germany alone. The pictures I have taken are from England, Germany and Denmark. The tear sheets can be viewed in full screen in the portfolio.

Book reception 31 January

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 20:01:13 +0000

For the people residing in Copenhagen the owners of Malbeck wine bar have planned a book reception January 31 for their new book about Buenos Aires. They wrote it in collaboration with two professors from The University of Copenhagen, and I contributed with a series of black and white pictures from the city. The book has been titled Strejftog i Buenos Aires (Prowl in Buenos Aires).

The past months

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:35:42 +0000

December 15 I moved back to Copenhagen after spending nearly two years in Paris with Lea. The reasons for moving was a job offer teaching photography and better freelance opportunities in general. The past months I have spend finishing a music video for Chllnger and putting together picture stories for Danish magazines. Two stories – one about the skinhead cult and one about a group of outsiders in Copenhagen – will be published the first months of 2011. Two single pictures – one from the Tulun Atoll (in this post) and one of the Danish colony in Necochea, Argentina – have just been published in the Danish magazine Børn og Unge. While I was in Argentina to do the story on the Danish colony I also spend a few weeks in Buenos Aires with the owners of the Argentinian wine bar Malbeck (Copenhagen). They were collecting material for a cultural guide to the Argentinian capital titled Strejftog i Buenos Aires which translates to Prowl in Buenos Aires. A small selection of the pictures I took in Buenos Aires can be found in their book, which they wrote in collaboration with two professors from The University of Copenhagen. For the people residing in Copenhagen there will be a book reception January 31, at the wine bar.

Help Alvin to the hospital

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:10:31 +0000

Alvin is 14 years old and lives on Huene – an island the size of a football field on the Tulun Atoll. His illness, which the local doctor has no way of treating, has made him loose his toes and fingers. Alvin’s family lives 80 km from the nearest neighbor. Their only means of transportation is a wooden canoe. For Alvin to get proper treatment he needs to be sailed to Bougainville and flown from there to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. Please help collect money to get Alvin transported to the hospital along with his mother via this donation site.

Carterets Beyond 2000 Foundation

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:01:05 +0000

Bernard Tunim is back in Papua New Guinea and has formed a foundation together with three fellow islanders. Its name is Carterets Beyond 2000 Foundation. Andreas Kaholo, the chairman of the Council of Elders (the council of the 18 chiefs on the main island Han) is among the members of the group. The aim is to make The Carteret Islands (Tulun) inhabitable for future generations. More information to come.

Bernard has spoken

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:56:56 +0000

Bernard Tunim, chief and fisherman from Tulun, delivered his second speech in Copenhagen yesterday and will spend the coming days on climate change related meetings. A number of people approached Bernard after his speeches and asked how they could help him. He will give it some thought and send a message through this site within a few days. Alongside Bernard Tunim the following people spoke at Bright Green 12 – 13 December 2009 in Copenhagen:

Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke
U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu

H.R.H. The Crown Prince of Denmark
H.R.H. The Crown Princess of Sweden
H.R.H. The Crown Prince of Norway

Prime Minister of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Danish COP15 host)

Swedish Minister for Trade, Ewa Björling

Visit from Tulun

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:15:25 +0000

With the aid of the Confederation of Danish Industry I have been able to invite Bernard Tunim to Bright Green in connection with the UN Climate Change Conference. Bernard is chief and fisherman from Piul island on the Tulun Atoll (The Carteret Islands). He will be speaking both 12 and 13 December.

Tulun exhibited at 400 cafés

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:59:23 +0000

Picture from the Tulun project distributed via GO-CARD at 400 Cafés in Denmark. The postcards are free and availeble between 17 – 24 September.

Bright Green Expo

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 10:43:51 +0000

The pictures from Tulun were taken during January 2009 and will be supplemented with material from a second visit to the islands in the near future. The full length photo essay will be published here on the site after two screenings at Bright Green in connection with the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Screenings 12 - 13 December 2009 Forum Copenhagen Julius Thomsens Plads 1 Frederiksberg C

Tulun: A Case Study

Bjørn Stig Hansen — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:15:34 +0000

25 million people will be on the move in the coming decades as a result of climate change according to the UN . The Tulun Atoll (also known as Kilinailau or Carteret islands/atoll) in Melanesia is one of the first sources. Within few generations the sea is expected to have submerged the six tiny islands forcing the 1000 islanders to search for new land. 400 years of peaceful existence for the Tulun community is seeing an end and a new life in the money driven world awaits them. Still pictures from Tulun are found in the portfolio.

Published in

Berlingske Tidende (DK)
Information (DK)
Ekstra Bladet (DK)

Screenings / cinematic presentations

2009 “Tulun: A Case Study”, Bright Green/COP15, Forum, Copenhagen

Exhibitions

2009 “Tulun: A Case Study”, Postcards distributed via GoCard at 400 cafés in Denmark

The Tulun people have come to a cross road where fear that their islands will sink and fear of the outside world have split the population in two between the ones who want to move and the ones who want to stay. Food shortage, malnutrition, overpopulation, flooding, malaria and the prospect of a new life with electricity and modern commodities all make good reasons to leave. Culture, tribal traditions, land ownership and a peaceful existence far from their mountainous neighbor, Bougainville – which is still struggling to maintain law and order after a civil war that ended ten years ago – are all strong arguments in favor of staying. The tribe has lived isolated in the Solomon Sea for 400 years and communication with the outside world is limited to a two-way radio. The people live a simple life without stable electricity and use wooden canoes to travel between the islands on top of the Tulun Atoll’s 61 km (37.9 miles) long reef. Like many communities from low lying pacific islands, the Tulun people fear that the sea will submerge their island within few generations and they have begun the quest for new land. The majority of the old people are reluctant to leave and will stay behind as the younger generations start to move away. Each of the six islands on the atoll can be crossed on foot in a few minutes and stands few feet above sea level at the highest point. Tulun is situated 80 km (49.7 miles) northeast of Bougainville in the South Pacific Sea. In December 2008 the islanders experienced a flooding unprecedented in their living memory. It left their food gardens barren and took away the only staple crops they had. It also convinced a lot of islanders that it is time to start the search for new land. They are unable to transport themselves to safety and have had no luck finding new land until this day. On November 25, 2003, the Papua New Guinean government authorized the government-funded total evacuation of the islands, 10 families at a time; the evacuation was expected to be completed by 2007, but access to funding caused numerous delays. Around 1000 people live on the islands.