Jan Philipzen is a German born photographer currently studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. For the past three years, Philipzen has been working on an autobiographical project: raw, intimate images which capture the stories of the photographer’s close friends as well as the physicality and fragility of the photographic medium.

What do you hope your contribution to photography is?
I would like to reintroduce an organic element to photography. I love the digital process, but my pictures need a little dirt or texture. So it feels like they “lived” in the physical world at some point.

What has been your proudest moment as a photographer?
When I was nine, a friend of my parents gave me her camera at the zoo. The first picture I took was a tiger hitting another tiger in the face. I was so surprised and proud when I got the negatives back.

If you could return to any era and photograph, where would you go?
Japanese punks in the late 1970’s.

What is the responsibility of a photographer to their audience?
I think it’s important that the photographer allows the audience to connect with the pictures emotionally no matter what their level of education is. I really like the idea of creating something that everybody can enjoy in different ways.