Approaching these intricate murals you might think you are being led into a wonderful fairytale land full of fun and creativity, especially as this is in Copenhagen home of Hans Christian Andersen author of many famous fairytales including The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Clothes and The Ugly Duckling.
The reality however is very different...
This is Freetown Christiana.
It is a "self proclaimed autonomous anarchist district" in the borough of Christianshavn in the city. It was originally a military barracks but in 1971 a group of squatters took possession after the military moved out, initially as a playground for their children but eventually it was seen as an opportunity to build up a society from scratch.
It is a very "progressive society" and has become one of the main tourist attractions in Copenhagen. However as I stood at the entrance taking photographs I was warned by one of the residents that if I was seen taking pictures inside I would be chased out and my camera would be broken. We decided to go in and have a look around although felt on edge much of the time and when we saw the drug dealers with piles of cannabis resin and buds on display we realised why they would not want to be photographed and with my camera in hand I felt the eyes of the dealers and their associates on me everywhere I went so we didn't stay too long.
In spite of this the graffiti/artwork that we saw and that I did manage to photograph was of a really good standard and I was happy to get a few shots. However, there would have been so many opportunities for some great street photography but after the warning at the start I didn't dare risk it.
No comments:
Post a Comment