Biography
Norwegian, b. 1977
When I was 19, I got a one-year internship at Magnum Photos' London office. I made coffee and tea, ran to the post office, answered the phones and returned prints and slides to their right places in the archive. A year spent working in the presence of that iconic archive was the best education I could have asked for.
After I finished my internship there, I left for Russia to try to become a photographer myself. I fell madly in love with the former USSR and ended up spending several years there. The time I spent there resulted in my first book, "Satellites - Photographs from the Fringes of the former Soviet Union", which came out in 2006.
Somehow I've always been fascinated by enclaves and people living in isolated communities. While "Satellites" looked at separatist republics in the former USSR, in 2005 I started another project about a different type of enclave - the urban slum. "The Places We Live" became a three-year journey through four slum communities around the world, and in 2008 it became a book and exhibition featuring projections and voice recordings in a three-dimensional installation.
I've always been fascinated by faith and religion, and its place in society. In September 2017 my most recent book, The Last Testament, about people who claim to be the Second Coming of Christ was published.
I've enjoyed working with a diverse group of clients, of all sizes and shapes. Some of my clients have been GEO magazine, Newsweek, the Sunday Times Magazine, The Rockefeller Foundation, Goldman Sachs, and many others. Since 2004 I have had the pleasure of working with National Geographic Magazine on many stories.
I joined Magnum Photos in 2004.
Today I live near Oslo, Norway with my wife and three children.
Selected Awards & Grants
2014 NPPA Best of Photojournalism, 1st prize
2014 Pictures of the Year, Last of the First skiers
2013 Pictures of the Year, Russian Summer edit
2011 Norwegian State Artist’s Grant
2009 Fotografiprisen
2008 Telenor International Culture Prize
2008 National Geographic Photography Grant 2007 ASME National Magazine Award
2007 Freedom of Expression Foundation Grant
2007 Award of Excellence, Pictures of the Year International
2005 Open Society Institute, Distribution Grant
2005 Alicia Patterson Fellowship
2005 2nd Prize, Daily Life Stories, World Press Photo Competition
2005 Award of Excellence, Pictures of the Year International
2004 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
2004 Norwegian Art’s Council Grant
2003 Infinity Award, Young Photographer of the Year, International Center of Photography
2003 1st Prize, Picture of the Year International Awards
2001 World Press Photo Masterclass
2001 Nikon/Sunday Times Magazine Ian Parry Memorial Award 2001 Photo District News “30 under 30”
Selected Exhibitions:
2014 Open for Business (Group show), National Media Museum, UK
2013 Unintended Journeys (Group show), Smithsonian Natural History Museum Washington
2011 Bangladesh – On the Frontline of Climate Change, Perpignan, France
2008-12 The Places We Live
Nobel Peace Center, Oslo; CO Berlin; National Building Museum, USA;
CECZ, Amsterdam; Perspektivet Museum, Tromsø
2006-12 Satellites
Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam; PM Gallery, London; Visa pour l’image, Perpignan; Fotoencuentros, Murcia
2008 Access to Life (Group show)
The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; Stenersenmuseet, Oslo; United Nations, New York, Asahi Mullion, Tokyo
2004 Moving Walls 8 - Open Society Institute, New York, USA
2002 Changing the Face of India - Tom Blau Gallery, London, UK
Books:
2008 The Places We Live, Aperture, USA (7 languages)
2006 Satellites, Aperture, USA (4 languages)