FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Travel

VICE Guide to Copenhagen - Sydhavnen

In the Copenhagen neighbourhood of Sydhavnen, we meet artist and activist Haitham, living a life free of work obligations, rent checks and bank accounts in an attempt to distance himself from conventional society.

44-year-old Haitham is an artist and activist living with his dog in a trailer in Sydhavnen. For years he worked a normal job, lived in a regular apartment and paid his taxes but when struck by depression, he made the life altering decision to turn his back on conventional society. Today, he lives a life without steady income, he does not pay his taxes and he has no bank account. At night he roams the streets of Copenhagen expressing his anti-capitalist philosophy and disdain for society’s values through the art of graffiti. We also meet Haitham’s friend Nicky quit his job in advertising along with his drinking and drug habits and moved to India to become a monk. Today, Nicky pays around 450 dollars a year in rent to live in an allotment garden from where he can see the fancy, new high rises and expensive apartment buildings encroaching on the old, working class neighborhoods of Sydhavnen.

Advertisement