People nominee

It was the end of winter when i visited a man in the hart of Ukraine. I photographed him, standing behind the window of his house.
It was freezing outside and frost is covering the thin glass. The man has a desire to the earlier days and his face showing his emotions when in his mind he travels back to his younger self.

As a documentary photographer, Jan Janssen capture the moments he recognises in his fellow human beings, especially those elsewhere in the world. In everyday moments, he finds the same needs, insecurities or pleasures that all people enjoy in their lives - albeit to different degrees. Travelling is inseparable from Janssen's photographic pratice. On the one hand, travelling is an opportunity to discover who you are yourself. By travelling to other places, Jan seeks precisely the things we have in common. In a world of polarisation and contrasts, sometimes even on one continent, Janssen settles geographical and symbolic boundaries by photographing people in a pure essence. He photographs the richness of our most basic human needs, like freedom, family and security - or, conversely, the absence of their obviousness. To create his photographs, Janssen works on location for long periods of time. He often returns to the same place during subsequent trips. Here he builds a bond with the local people, based on mutual respect and dignity. This 'photgraphing with a free heart' allows him to get as close to people as possible. Only in this way can he penetrate to the essence of their being, and then capture it.


Discovery