On September 8th 2005, 105 persons disguised as clowns – the so-called Clown Army – were arrested while defending some housewagons in Christiania in Copenhagen.

A year later, on August 28th, a group of activists disguised as pirates occupies the small fortress Trekroner in Copenhagen Harbour to protest the final and negative court decision on the eviction of the Ungdomshus users.

These two incidents are linked by the use of disguise. Disguise is a central element on both sides of the Ungdomshus conflict. The activists disguise themselves – in more or less creative manners – to avoid being identified, arrested, charged and convicted by the authorities. The police is diguised, hidden by their helmets and visors, not only for physical protection, but also to render themselves anonymous; another kind of identity protection.

As for the Ungdomshus movement, these diguised identities are paralleled by the horizontal organization structure, where events are organised by different and shifting group constellations, which makes it hard for the media and the surrounding society to recognize any leaders or a responsible core of activists. In such a structure no one has the ability or the need to seize power and to control and direct the movement over a longer period. Another kind of democracy?

The theme of disguise is one of the main themes of this suite of pictures, used in different configurations and to various degrees.