Hidden Kingdom

The work Hidden Kingdom consists of images photographed between 2006–2016 and is a personal journey through inner and outer scenarios formed by situations and encounters. For over ten years Stefan travelled intensively across European landscapes. 

– These journeys was for me a sort of meditation, a way to get away from daily life and get closer to myself. The geography was never important itself, I just tried to be driven by instinct, to be open to situations as they were, not think too much. I am interested in the ungraspable and unexplainable and I often describe my photography as tranquil and enigmatic – a search for imaginary scenes and situations.

Hidden Kingdom is an investigation of a condition, the impermanence of our existence and the vastness of silence behind everything. The title stand as a metaphor for human longing — the endless search for something greater to come forth.

– I am not sure what is happening and why I take certain pictures and that it is part of my method. It is more of a reaction I am interested in. A reaction to what I see and feel. On these journeys I have often found myself in moments that appear to have neither a beginning nor an end. Rather, I’ve found myself in the middle of something.

The project sums up over a decade of the photographic work, and its parts received worldwide attention upon its production. The project was recognized in most prestigious photography competitions in the world, such as Oscar Barnack Award 2012 (shortlist), Elliot Erwitt Fellowship 2016 (shortlist and finalist), Photolucida 2015 (shortlist and finalist). 

"Travel is useful, it exercises the imagination. All the rest is disappointment and fatigue. Our journey is entirely imaginary. That is its strength. It goes from life to death. People, animals, cities, things, all are imagined. It’s a novel, just a fictitious narrative. Littré says so, and he’s never wrong. And besides, in the first place, anyone can do as much. You just have to close your eyes. It’s on the other side of life."

Louis-Ferdinand Celine
Journey to the End of the Night