Born in Denmark 1979.
I was 19 years old when I realized that I wanted be a photographer. It was in the crowded streets of Mérida during a nine-month stay in Venezuela. I had bought an old camera from a friend but found myself not interested in the landscape or sunset. Instead, I was interested in the people, the poverty and the cracks in the surroundings. I knew then that by taking pictures I was able to combine my three major interests that I had since early on in my life.
Firstly, it was a way to fulfill my ambition to change the things in today’s world and society, which I felt was unjust and needed attention. Secondly, I was deeply interested in other people’s life and the world around me. Taking pictures became a way for me to open new doors and digest what I saw behind them. Lastly, I had always had a desire to express myself creatively. Being a photographer allowed me to make my own interpretation of what I saw; to raise questions and investigate rather than coming up with the exact answers.
Since then my work has mainly focused on contemporary issues and dilemmas such as overpopulation, poverty, human rights violations and man’s often-destructive relationship with nature.
Just after I graduated with a degree in photojournalism from the Danish School of Journalism in 2007 I moved to Shanghai to document the human and social consequences of China’s historical economic rise. After two years in China, I returned to Denmark where I currently work as staff photographer for the national newspaper Berlingske. At Berlingske, much of my time is devoted to in-depth feature stories as well as international news.
Aside from Berlingske, I have worked on my long-term personal project from the Amazon since 2006.
Mads worked for clients such as Time, Newsweek, Stern, Spiegel, GEO, Russian Reporter, D La Repubblica, Sunday Times Magazine, MSF ect.
Mads has been awarded with Days Japan – International Photojournalism Award 2006-2007; POYi 2007; Danish Press Photo of the Year 2007 and 2010 (Best Feature Picture Story, Best Foreign Picture Story, Best Photo, Best News Picture, and Photographer of the Year); World Press Photo 2011, the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation Grant 2011.
He joined prospekt in 2011.
GIVING LIFE, RISKING LIFE
by Mads Nissen. Nepal. 2011. Every single day 1.000 women die in child labor or from pregnancy related conditions. 99 percent of these women are living in the development world. Looking only a few years back, Nepal had one of … Continue reading
LIBYA UNREST
by Mads Nissen. Benghazi, Tobrouk, Ajdabiya, Al Brega. February – March 2011. Anti – government protests in Libya started on 15 February 2011. By 18 February the second-largest city, Benghazi, was controlled by the rebels. The opposition also took the … Continue reading
IN THE NAME OF VICTORIA
by Mads Nissen. September – November 2010. This work was awarded with the 2011 PX3 awards, Gold Medal Feature Story and the World Press Photo 2011, 3rd Daily Life Story. In September 2010, the Danish daily newspaper Berlingske published a … Continue reading
OUMA’S WEDDING: A CHILD IS GETTING MARRIED
by Mads Nissen. Niger. 2008. Ouma is getting married. She is 14-years old. Her husband Hamidou is 33-years old and already has one wife. The African Sahara-country Niger hold the world record in child marriages – 3/4 girls are married … Continue reading
OVERPOPULATION IN MANILA
by Mads Nissen. Philippines. 2006. Too many people. Too little space. The Philippines has one of the fastest growing populations in Southeast Asia. From having fifty million inhabitants in 1980, the Philippines today is home to around ninty million people … Continue reading
MOLDOVA: WITH FREEDOM CAME POVERTY
by Mads Nissen. Moldova. 2006. Moldova was one of the richest states in the former Soviet Union. Today it’s the poorest country in Europe and the problems facing the country are massive. 34 percent of the population live under the … Continue reading
NIGER FOOD CRISIS
by Mads Nissen. Niger. 2005. The poorest country in the world: Zinder and Maradi regions. Niger is the poorest country in the world, and was in 2005 experiencing the worst food crisis in twenty years. For every 10,000th inhabitants, about … Continue reading
Multimedia
GIVING LIFE, RISKING LIFE – MULTIMEDIA
by Mads Nissen. Nepal. 2011. Every single day 1.000 women die in child labor or from pregnancy related conditions. 99 percent of these women are living in the development world. Looking only a few years back, Nepal had one of … Continue reading