Jürgen Bürgin (b.1971) is photographer living in Berlin, Germany. His photobook ‘Urban Fever’ is about reporting life in big cities through personal and emotional photographs. His pictures tell stories, they carry secrets, and they discover special, poetic moments in everyday life. The photos of the series URBAN FEVER have been shot in the years 2010-2016 in Tokyo, New York, Berlin, Saigon, Lisbon, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Barcelona.

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About : My works have been exhibited at South Street Seaport Museum in New York, at Galerie Lardon in Ahrenshoop, at Deutsche Bank in Berlin, at Galerie Aspekt in Neustadt, at Art Fair Cologne, at Fotogalerie Potsdam and at the Galerie Seifert Lardon in Berlin. In 2013, I had my first solo exhibition ‘Urban Ballads’ at Fotogalerie Friedrichshain. It got a big media and audience response. “It’s the melancholy of the everyday moments that allows the photographer Jürgen Bürgin to captivate the viewer”, the daily newspaper Tagesspiegel reported. My works have been awarded, among others, by the renowned Berlin photography gallery C/O Berlin. I was also nominated for the ‘Sony World Photography Award’, as well as ‘Urban Photographer of the Year’. In 2015 I showed “Urban Nights” at Fotogalerie Potsdam, and my works were part of the jubilee exhibition of Fotogalerie Friedrichshain in Berlin. In 2016 I showed my series “Vietnam Streets” in Berlin in a solo exhibition and “Mensch und Metropole” at Galerie im Saalbau in Berlin.

Statement : If I walk through big cities, my movements within the city affect my photography. I climb into the subway at any station and get off it somewhere else; I meet up with friends, go to the museum, the concert, and the movies. I get to know people as I watch strangers. Moreover, I have no strict photographic concepts that I wish to implement. Life does not follow a concept. It is influenced by chance, encounters, ideas, and events.

As a photographer, I believe that my role is not to create order where there is none in life. That is why this book is marked by scenes of encounters and impressions of people and life in general. If you compare the book with a literary form, it would be a book of poetry; each photo, like each poem, stands on its own, generates feelings, conveys impressions, and triggers thoughts. Above all, this book highlights my love of big city life and the people I meet, but often only observe, and whom I sometimes photograph. In addition, at times, the outcome captivates me, draws me towards it, and concerns me. The effect strikes my fancy and causes me to think about the life of the people I have photographed. Several questions arise in my mind with regard to my subjects — how they live, whether they are happy or lonely, and how they spend their time. Some of these photos are marked by the hectic restlessness of the metropolis, while others capture the silence and thoughtfulness of city life. Almost all of them express a singular mood: the big city fever.

Projects : I’m currently working on two major project, first of all it’s a series about boxing, which will result in a photo book in 2017, and secondly it’s a series about circus, together with a literature scientist living in Australia, this will also be a book that will be published in 2017 or 2018.

Influences and favorite stuff : There are influences of the big city films in my pictures. I have been working in the film industry for many years and feel affected by films, whether they are from Woody Allen’s New York homages or Wong Kar-Wai’s Hong Kong melodramas. Sometimes, I think of the still photos hanging in front of cinemas, which are intended to denote the film’s story and convey its mood.

All photos © Jürgen Bürgin : Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram