Photographer + Writer
[Nature + Human Relations]
Copenhagen, Denmark
I photograph people and spaces, mostly. And senses — of place, of home, of belonging.
Evocative and pensive is how I would describe what I (try to) do, which probably explains my penchant for low-fi, hushed, (often) unsharp, murky, misty, grainy imagery. Imperfections, small(er) moments, and the everyday are what interests me the most. Ultimately, I seek the ‘humble sublime’, a term I picked up in an essay on the work of my favorite writer and painter Tove Jansson. She was a bold, yet quiet artist who created the world of Moomins — my happy place of adventure and my source of inspiration.
I aim to avoid the pressures of dualistic thinking and to perceive landscape as a mode of being (rather than seeing), a polyesthetic experience, a co-creative space of human + nature interaction.
If you're a kindred spirit, an art director with a commission brief, or a fellow artist looking to do something cool together, drop me a line to alkelu@pm.me or use this contact form.
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My photographic work is strongly informed by my biography of relocation and by my academic background in Anthropology and Cultural Geography. I am what they might call a third-culture kid: born in Central Asia, grew up in the Baltics, East Germany, and Russia (St. Petersburg). Before settling in Denmark, I lived in the US, England, Norway, and Greece.
I am curious about where people feel they belong, about where they place themselves, and about the narratives they carry. That led me to develop a PhD research project focusing on the experiences of people quoting nature as their main source of identity (over culture) and seeking meaningful interactions with the landscape around them. It is that search for meaning and connectedness in a post-wilderness world that illuminates my visual storytelling.
Aside from that, I am fascinated by languages. Not just as a means of communication but as cultural, cognitive, and phonetic phenomena, which is why I like to learn about languages just as much as I like learning them! I am bilingual in English and Russian, and speak Greek, Danish, Norwegian, and German with varying degrees of fluency.
I have strong opinions but am open to ideas. People have become too polarized and often can’t look at themselves in a critical light. I believe in free speech even if it offends me. I also believe in uncomfortable, honest conversations — it’s the only way to move past differences and achieve any tangible results. In others, I respect the ability to disagree with someone while still being interested in what they have to say.
[Quiet & Natural over Loud & Synthetic]
