VIDEO:Inuuteq Storch-Who We Are
Meet a young photographer, Inuuteq Storch, who works with found images telling Greenland history from the Greenlandic perspective. “A lot of the documents and photos we are used to seeing are by people who came to Greenland, not by Greenlanders themselves”
Inuuteq Storch encountered a series of films with a friend while working in a dumpster; he then figured out that ‘found images’ could be a project for him. For Inuuteq Storch found images and archive projects have developed into a project where he wants to tell Greenland history from the Greenlandic perspective, “because many of the documents and photos we have are by people who came to Greenland.” “It is like physics; the practical and the theoretical results are usually different.”
“A lot of my work is about me trying to understand how the traditional life in Greenland was.” His series, called ‘Porcelain Souls,’ is made of photos by Storch’s parents when they were young. “They are often portraying fragile and vulnerable people at the same time when the Greenland history and way of living was also disappearing,” Storch says, adding: “I had the idea that everything would fall apart and disappear. “
According to Inuuteq Storch, the John Møller project – called “Mirrored” (2021) ¬ ¬– is one of his most exciting projects. Møller’s photos are taken between 1889 and 1935 – a time Storch knew little about, and he finds it strange why Møller is not a well-known photographer in Greenland because he was “the perfect photographer.” Many of the photos from that time are taken by people who came to Greenland, not by the Greenlanders themselves, which we see in John Møller’s work.
“Greenlandic people are quite artistic; even though there was no word for art, we do not have that concept in our society.” Storch feels that the Greenlandic people are very creative when they make kayaks and clothing which is homemade and this creativity he wants to transfer into photography. “Even though photography is a very western idea, I think we can adapt to that, as well,” he concludes.
“It is a funny thing to say that I am a young artist because I have never been this old before. Yet, my work is quite young, but I have been taking photos for a long time; I started in 2007. I already have 15-16 projects I need to make books out of.”
“Greenland and Denmark have lived together for 300 years, and Denmark has colonized Greenland. Through darkness and brightness, we have lived together. The Danish people are the doors for Greenlandic people to understand the western concept, and we are the doors for Danish people to understand the spirits, and if we could merge those, it would be very good for us,” Storch concludes.
Inuuteq Storch is a photographer born in 1989 in Sisimiut, Greenland. Storch is educated from the Fatamorgana Photo School in Copenhagen and the International Center of Photography in New York. He has published three books: ‘Porcelain Souls’ (2018) containing photos made by his parents, ‘Flesh’ (2019) featuring works from New York, and finally ‘Mirrored’ (2021) works with found images by John Møller, the first Greenland photographer. The latter learned how to photograph in Copenhagen and started taking portraits in Greenland in 1889 and worked until he died in 1935. Inuuteq Storch has exhibited his work in various countries, including Greenland, Alaska, New Zealand, Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Finland, and Sweden. Storch is currently working on creating a foundation for Greenlandic photography and culture. He lives between Sisimiut and Copenhagen.
Cameras: Jakob Solbakken & Johan von Bülow. Edited by: Johan von Bülow, Produced by Christian Lund, © Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2022, Louisiana Channel is supported by Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond, Ny Carlsbergfondet, C.L. Davids Fond og Samling and Fritz Hansen