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 my 2017 book The Last Testament I followed seven men who claim to be the Second Coming of Christ. My most recent book, The Book of Veles (2021) probed the vulnerabilities of our perceptions, when what had been seen as a classical piece of photojournalism was in large part synthetic computer-generated renderings.

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 smallest children.

Selected exhibitions:

2019 “Vesterålen”, part of Norwegian Journal of Photography-show at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Oslo

2017-2019 The Last Testament, solo shows
SHOOT Gallery, Oslo; Rencontres d’Arles, France; Fotografiska, Stockholm, Museum of Modern Art, Tbilisi, Georgia.

2017-18 Home (Travelling group show by 12 Magnum Photographers)
MILK Gallery, New York; The Vinyl Factory, London; Galerie Joseph, Paris, Goeun Museum of Photography, South Korea

2014 Open for Business (Group show), National Media Museum, UK

2013 Unintended Journeys, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, USA

2008-12 The Places We Live, solo shows Nobel Peace Center, Oslo; CO Berlin; National Building Museum, USA; CECZ,

Amsterdam; Perspektivet Museum, Tromsø

2006-12 Satellites, solo shows

Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam; PM Gallery, London; Visa pour l’image, Perpignan; Fotoencuentros, Murcia, Spain; Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, USA.

2008 Access to Life (Group show), The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; Stenersenmuseet, Oslo; United Nations, New York, Asahi Mullion, Tokyo; Powerhouse Museum, Sydney

Selected collections:

Møllersamlingen, Norway

Preus Museum, NorwayUSA

National Media Museum, UK

Corcoran Gallery of the Arts, USA

Books:

Monographs:

2021 The Book of Veles, GOST, UK

2017 The Last Testament, Aperture/GOST, USA (2 languages)

2008 The Places We Live, Aperture, USA (7 languages)

2006 Satellites, Aperture, USA (4 languages)

Selected group publications:

2017 Home, group project by Magnum Photographers

2015 Norwegian Journal of Photography #2

2011 Magnum Contact Sheets

2009 Georgian Spring, group project by Magnum Photographers

2009 Norsk dokumentarfotografi i dag

2009 Asylsøker

2008 Access to Life, group project by Magnum photographers/The Global Fund

2007 Magnum Magnum

Selected prizes and grants:

2017 Best Photography Book, The Last Testament, Picture of the Year (USA)

2014 Norwegian Journal of Photography #2

2011 Norwegian State artist’s grant (1 year)

2009 Fotografiprisen, Norway

2008 Telenor Culture Prize

2008 National Geographic Photography Grant

2007 ASME National Magazine Award

2007 Freedom of Expression Foundation grant

2005 Alicia Patterson Fellowship

2005 World Press Photo

2004 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship

2004-2007 Norwegian State artist’s grant, 3 years

2003 Infinity Award, Young Photographer of the Year, ICP, New York

2001 World Press Photo Masterclass

2001 Ian Parry Memorial Award