Bio taken from my book: What A Beautiful Waste Of Talent:


I had actually always wanted to be a carpenter. My father was. I never did though. I did, however, become so much more. What I have become is perhaps a bit hard to put into words, but in many ways it is irrelevant. What is important to me, personally, is that I have broken a pattern. Just like many, if not all, of the people who have opened themselves up to me and told me their stories during the making of this book. I could easily have become happy as a carpenter; it has nothing to do with the trade. It has something to do with talent. That talent which is just waiting to be discovered and used. That thing that makes you, as a human being, feel that you have found your vocation. My talent is to tell stories through pictures. And with this book I want to display my talent. There should be absolutely no doubt about that.


It is important for me to underline that the pictures in this book are to be interpreted as neither pure fiction nor pure realism. One could say that the scenarios in which people have been portrayed of course are fiction, but the sentiment lying in the pictures are most definitely realism and they are developed from the in-depth and personal conversations which I have had with all of the involved. And it is with these sentiments that I would like to narrate new stories about all of the talented people, who have agreed to participate in my book. The same goes for the poems which Keith has written. Here I would also like to point out that the texts in the book have not been written by the people involved; they are poetry, which are meant to complement the story in the pictures.
During this process of creating all of these portraits of all of these fascinating people, I have felt so privileged that I am almost lost for words. All of the people involved move something inside of me and thus I have given them the offer of playing a part. I have learned a great deal from their endeavors to realize their talent and the primary purpose of this book is exactly that; to pass on the knowledge and the feelings that lay in that process.


There is no denying that all of the pictures have a touch of melancholy about them. And it is no coincidence that it is precisely this melancholy, and at times darkness, which I have tried to uncover in my interpretation of the stories, which the involved have told me. This is also why I feel that I owe it to lay forth my own story for better or worse. It is also to explain why I am so fascinated by people, who understand how to use their talent as a weapon to break free from the boundaries in which they are kept, in order to create a better life for themselves.


My life began in the Northern parts of Jutland in 1976. The first memories of my childhood home are good and they revolve around music and a lot of parties. Among other things, my father played in the band “Bjørn og Okay” and for this reason, the house was always filled with creative people. But in time, things fell apart. My parents split up and my father died of cancer – probably from living the rough life of a musician for too many years. My mother was both physically and mentally ill, which greatly affected my childhood and adolescence. She had been subjected to abuse in her childhood. Still, she did everything she could, in order for me to be comfortable and to keep my dreams alive. Among other things, she had hung a poster of Snoop Doggy Dogg (that was his name at the time) on the wall to support my fascination with rap music. My mother died in 2001.


Music was also to become an important factor in my journey towards the point which I am at today. When I moved from Thisted to Copenhagen, I was quickly introduced to the musical scene of Copenhagen, by some of my old friends from Northern Jutland. I also started making music, all the while I ceaselessly worked on either the one or the other visual project. I have always been prone to drawing and painting – and I still am. This led me to creating artwork and album covers for a lot of different musicians. In time it replaced the part music played in my life and this is why, this day today, I can live off of my passion for creating pictures. For several years, I worked hard at translating my thoughts and drawings to pictures; here Tim Burton was and still is an enormous source of inspiration. However, some time went before things really started speeding up.


Since then, one project has taken over another and I have reached a point, where I feel that I have realized my own talent. I have had the opportunity to work with some of the most talented artists in Denmark and my mother’s prediction – that everything would be okay – has been fulfilled.