CULTURE

Helena Christensen’s Peru

The model/photographer captures her mother’s homeland

by Kat Herriman

Courtesy of the artist.

In a new series of photographs, “Visual Journey, Peru,” Helena Christensen turns her lens on her mother Elsa’s native country. “Peru is so beautiful even if you are the worst photographer you will take an amazing photograph,” laughs the Copenhagen-born supermodel-turned-lenswoman. The downside: that pervasive prettiness, she says, “makes it especially difficult to capture something that feels new.” So, in an effort to take in the country with a fresh eye, Christensen (who the Luxury Collection named its Global Explorer for 2014) and her mother approached the trip as tourists, visiting the country’s most famous sites instead of just Elsa’s small hometown. The resulting photographs include a mix of sweeping landscapes, sharp close-ups of wild life, and candid portraits of the individuals they encountered along the way. More experiential than narrative, they conjure a vibrant setting. Says Christensen, “When people are walking through the show, I want them to smell the mountains and the llamas and the spices of the marketplace.”

Visual Journey, Peru will be on exhibit at the Bleecker Street Arts Club from January 30th to February 15th, 2014.

Photos: Helena Christensen’s Peru

Courtesy of the artist.

Courtesy of the artist.

Courtesy of the artist.

Courtesy of the artist.

Courtesy of the artist.

Courtesy of the artist.

Courtesy of the artist.

Courtesy of the artist.

Courtesy of the artist.

Courtesy of the artist.

Courtesy of the artist.

Courtesy of the artist.

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