Casper Sejersen. Casper Sejersen. Casper Sejersen. For two years this name kept coming at me from all sides. Friends talked about him, how he worked with director Lars von Trier. His photography was published in Fashion, and he created back-to-back fall lookbooks for Dries Van Noten. Then I heard that he had created the green velvet apple that was the backdrop for fellow Dane Cecilie Bahnsen’s Paris show. And that he photographed McQueen’s resort 2025 lookbook, which was published here earlier this week. My interest was aroused: who is this man?
Sejersen is a quiet, bearded Dane who has interesting things to say about risk-taking and current fashion. When we spoke via Zoom, he was wearing a white shirt that was unbuttoned, revealing a gold pendant in the shape of the sun, showing that he had just returned from vacation. One finger on his tattooed left hand is studded with rings. He has a kind of golden glow, not because of the jewelry, but because luck seems to be on his side.
He dreamed of becoming a rock star, moved to Copenhagen and devoted himself to photography. Von Trier’s office called out of the blue and gave him carte blanche to create Belongs to Joea photographic essay based on the script of Nymphomaniacwhich has been described as a ‘visual history of eroticism’.
What I find so fascinating about Sejersen’s work is that he takes photographs with a brilliant, almost crystal clear clarity, but it is not necessarily about perfection. Often something is wrong, but it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly why or how. It is no surprise to me that this is one of Sejersen’s touchstones The little Prince, the book in which the golden-haired space traveler hero said, “What is essential is invisible to the eye.” He will photograph one of the emerging brands during Copenhagen Fashion Week, a real boost for the label. I talked to him about past and future projects.
Let’s start at the beginning; Where do you come from?
I come from the northern part of Denmark, from the city of Aalborg. When I was growing up, it was a bit like Liverpool in Denmark, a rough industrial city with a large shipyard and concrete factory, where schnapps was brewed. In high school I played drums and I thought I was going to be a rock star with my band, so we moved to Copenhagen – at least most of us did. Then – I’ll try to give you the short version of a very long story – I needed new drums, I needed money for a private teacher, so I took on a lot of different jobs.