Frisson; a Shiver of Pleasure

Photographed by Berber Theunissen

I capture the situations I have little grasp on. Through photography, I create my own handhold in order to look at my life in a more objective way. During the creation of my most recent series ‘Frisson; a shiver of pleasure’, I’d focus my camera on all things affecting me personally during the past period. All the things that Ia love, but also the things that make me vulnerable. I documented moments, feelings and memories in which these intense emotional situations were present or revolving around me.

Something strange happened during the creation of this ongoing series. I realized I was not only photographing the things that affect me, but that I was also still searching for what affects me, the things that make me happy. I started to ask myself the question: how do I achieve the highest state of happiness? So instead of simply register things, this series became more and more like a quest.

I was born 1989 in Otterlo, a small village in the middle of The Netherlands. When I was 18. I moved to Amsterdam.  June 2013 I graduated Cum Laude from the Photo Academy in Amsterdam.  For my graduation series ‘Vagabond’ I explored how one lives without a permanent home, and how it feels to wander between friends and family with few possessions. Next, I created ‘Dozen Of Bulls’ during a trip with my grandfather through Iceland. January 1st 2015 I moved from Amsterdam back to the nature, the surrounding that inspires me most. 

- Berber Theunissen

Find more of Berber's work here.