Drenge

The photobook 'Drenge' (Boys) by the young Danish photographer Frederik Danielsen, depict the formative period from boy to man. A period where you get the first profound feelings and the first hard blows. This universal life phase takes place everywhere, but in 'Drenge' it plays out in the Danish southern countryside on the small island Als close to the German border, in the surroundings where Frederik grew up himself. The island resembles what we in Denmark call the outskirts, but 'Drenge' are not a book about growing up on the edge of life in the cities. For the six boys, the outskirts are the center of existence. It is the photographer's past as well as the boys future. The book are photographs of everyday life on Als. Pictures of how six young boys on the edge of men have developed a friendship and a bond that becomes more than that. They share a dream of not wishing themselves to the end of the world, but instead stay where they are, appreciate the everyday life, nature and the countryside. The six boys do not have the same wanderlust, the same hurry to get away, travel and live in the big city as the photographer had. They are fixing mopeds, driving races, do not drink beer yet and only talk about girls when no one is listening. In 'Drenge', boyhood and everyday life are mixed with teenage nervousness, coming of age and raw Danish nature.