Torben Huss, "Young man with a sheepskin." Afghanistan, '60s

From June 8th, guests to the David Collection will be able to experience the special exhibition “The Hippie Trail – Travel Photography by Torben Huss.” The exhibition consists of 92 photographs and a film featuring slides and music. In recent years, the David Collection has arranged exhibitions of art photography related to the museum’s collections. This is the fifth in the series.

Torben Huss was a young man when he went off towards the east in 1962. He took along the camera that he had received as a confirmation present, his dreams, and not much else. The trip went along tortuous roads and there were no timetables or special projects that had to be carried out. The important thing was to take off and let opportunities and impressions arise on the way. In Huss’s own words:

“With a little homemade backpack I hitchhiked my way down through Europe and then towards the east. On the highway and with no destination. The roads kept going and tempted and guided me on until I ended up in Nepal, a land that I had not even known existed before I approached its border in India.”

The photographs that Huss took on his first trip and on the many ensuing journeys to India have rarely been exhibited. Now a selection of old but well-preserved negatives and slides from the ’60s and ’70s have been found and new prints are being exhibited under the title of “The Hippie Trail.” Actually, the concept hippie did not even exist when Huss took off for the first time, but the way he traveled and his route quickly became “hip” in a generation that longed to see foreign places and was inquisitive.

The exhibition begins with photographs of his life as a young man in Copenhagen in 1968. From here the trip goes to Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and India. The focus is on Huss’s eye for the poetic and alien, but occasionally, the camera also pointed at his fellow travelers. It is a journey in time and place with quite a bit of nostalgia and even more a desire for adventure.

A fine little catalogue was made for the exhibition by the museum’s curator, Peter Wandel, with a selection of photographs and an interview with the photographer. For press copies of the catalogue and press photos, contact Sonja Wiesener, head of communications, at s.wiesener@davidmus.dk.

The exhibition will run from June 8, 2018, to October 28, 2018. Admission is free to the museum and all its exhibitions.

The David Collection
Kronprinsessegade 30
1306 Copenhagen K
Tel. 45 33 73 49 49
www.davidmus.dk

Torben Huss, “At a café in Istanbul.” Turkey, 1967

Torben Huss, “Camel Market.” Nagaur, Rajasthan, India, ’60s

Torben Huss, “Flood.” Manasbal, Kashmir, 1979