I was out driving when I noticed this house. It was modern, built right out toward the water, and surrounded by high fences and cameras on every side. At the time, I had been photographing mostly in the same area, drawn to the large houses along this long stretch of road near where I grew up, north of Copenhagen.
I saw it as my next scene. I tried photographing it from the outside and had my friend drive me there. We parked by a bush along the beach. I couldn’t get close enough with my camera, and I felt the adrenaline of getting caught.
After my failed attempts, I started searching for the house online. I found the address and soon the owner's phone number. I called them hoping for a chance to get some photos inside the house for the work I was doing at the time. A woman picked up the phone. I told her that I was a photographer studying at Fatamorgana, the Danish School of Art Photography, and that I had seen their house in passing and wanted to photograph it. I didn’t tell her I had already photographed the house, and I didn’t get her name. She hesitated for a moment and said, “I’m sorry, we are very private”. We hung up the phone. I never got to see what was inside the house.
I continued the project, and for the remainder of the series I shot outside, photographing exteriors and signs of what could be inside. I became attached to the exteriors and saw them as metaphors for the exterior I had been given access to, and the interior that remained unknown to me.
At that time in my life, many things remained hidden. I was always on the outside. I became fascinated by what other people hide. In We Are Very Private, the female characters are obstructed by barriers, hidden, watched, or watching from the outside. The gaze functions as a dual mirror, switching between looking and being looked at.
The work consists of three series: Separation, Intruder, and Chase, which were later brought together as a larger sequence under the title We Are Very Private. The work was published in 2025 and distributed by Makan Press as a limited-edition zine. Held in the collection of NYU Libraries.
Over the past year, the work has been presented at international art book and photobook fairs, including Brooklyn Art Book Fair, New York (2026); Photo London, London (2026); Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair, Los Angeles (2026); Contact Photo Book Fair, Toronto (2026); Other Islands Book Fair (2026); International Center of Photography Photobook Fest, New York (2025, 2026); Multiple Formats Art Book Fair, Boston University (2026); Printed Matter Art Book Fair, New York (2025, 2026); Polycopies, Paris (2025); Tokyo Art Book Fair, Tokyo (2025); Paperback Art Book Fair, Saudi Arabia (2025); and Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York (2025).