Point of View // Per Englund (Sweden)

Where are you and what are you doing?

I’m based in Stockholm, Sweden. I grew up in Gothenburg but moved here recently, mainly for work purposes and a for a change of environment. Since I finished photography school in 2002 I’ve been traveling most of the time, assisting various fashion photographers, eating in fancy restaurants twice a day and taking snap shots in the streets. I ended up getting stuck in South Africa where I started to document the style and youth culture in the black townships of Cape Town with my friend Mlamli Figlan from Guguletu. It resulted in a photography book called The Beautiful Struggle and it was released in the end of 2006. Today I’m trying my best to stay put in Stockholm for a while to take care of all the mess created during those years…! Beside my photography I’m working part time for Dokument who offered me a (real) job after having published my book. An exhibition is touring various cities and galleries promoting the book and the good vibes in the townships!

How did you start taking photos?

I did my first photo story at the age of six. Shooting my friends in kindergarten on a winter day on the frozen Swedish sea. I found the negs fifteen years later when I was in photography school, had them printed and everyone fooled! But really, it was only when I was about 14 that I got into photography more seriously. I was swallowed up in the graffiti-culture and alongside with painting I started to document the whole scene with my camera. It was my dad who taught me photography and we used to go on graffiti tours together to Stockholm, riding every subway line, getting off at every stop, climbing fences and taking photos! Sitting on thousands of pictures I decided to publish my own fanzine with main focus on the graffiti scene in Gothenburg where I’m from. This was in 1996 when there was really no internet and digital cameras around and when graff mags were scarce. It was a completely different time when it comes to the flow of information, which meant there was a demand for my fanzine. I’m glad I grew up out of that, before and during the IT-revolution, and that I learnt how to DIY at an early age. I gave up my fanzine at the age of 17, after having published three issues.

What is the most important aspect of (your) photography to you?

Well, I guess my personal photography is a way of controlling things and a false but sweet feeling of being able to make yourself immortal and to keep a subject or a feeling forever. Since I was very little I have been collecting almost everything. In my photography I separate what I do, but my daily photography is the same way of collecting and preserving. The only difference is that it doesn’t take much physical space which is great! It’s also an easy way of remembering things. If you ask me what I did last Wednesday I have no clue. My photography is my diary and I can always go back in my files to be reminded.

Who is your favourite photographer?

That changes from day to day. I’m trying not to get too influenced by other photographers but of course that’s impossible, especially since I buy a lot of books and see plenty of exhibitions. Quite recently I saw Rinko Kawauchiís exhibition ‘Aila + the eyes, the ears’ and Mikael Jansons ‘Speed Of Life’. Two completely different expressions but both made a lasting impression on me. I like to see the work of fanatics, to feel the devotion and discipline. Generally (and since I’m very impatient) I prefer quantity before quality. More is more. Like the fact that Araki has published around 400 books. I think that’s great!

If I have to mention someone whose work is a source of inspiration that would be, not a photographer, but the artist Teching Hsieh, with his one year performances.

Do you see photography as a part of a bigger creative urge/scene/force?

Yes and no, since it’s such a vast genre. Photography is a difficult term. It’s often hard to explain to someone on the outside what you’re doing. Most people have an idea of what photography is and all those ideas differ. To me working with photography means that you’re using a camera as your tool. I believe that some photography should get the same respect and attention as other art forms and of course it goes hand in hand with other expressions as well. Photography depends on its subjects and can’t exist alone. Photography is not about photography.

What could you look at for the rest of your life?

My girlfriend, a white wall or a blue sky with moving clouds. Details and noise make me stressed.

End.

Related links //
Beautiful Struggle – Ping Mag Article