Friday Inspiration (on a Sunday) – Jonas Bendiksen
Yeah, I know I’m posting this “Friday Inspiration” on a Sunday, but I’m afraid I’m running a few days behind right now! My family got back last week from a wonderful short vacation on the Oregon coast – one of my favorite places in the world – and I’ll be sharing images soon!
I went to the library the other day and glanced at the new books. One photography book was on the shelf and I took a quick look at it. It looked like a potentially good book of documentary work and the library was closing soon, so I checked it out.
Boy, did I make a good choice! The book is The Places We Live, by Jonas Bendiksen. First off, Bendiksen is a Magnum photographer, which places him in the category of world-class. Secondly, the prints in this book are both phenomenal and heartbreaking. There are a few photographers whose work I love for their ability to make beautiful photographs of terrible things. Bendiksen has just been added to that list. His use of light, composition, and his saturated colors make these images fantastic!
For this book, he spent time in the slums of four cities: Caracas, Venzuela; Nairobi, Kenya; Mumbai, India; and Jakarta, Indonesia. He visited people in their homes and photographed the four walls of each home. The heart of the book is these series of photographs – the pages open so you can view all four photographs at once. The remainder of the photographs are from the neighborhoods these homes are in.
Bendiksen interviewed one member of each family and allows them to tell their own story as a preface to each set of photographs. He writes:
“Tell me about life here,” I said. I hoped that they would talk about whatever they felt like—their homes, families, dreams, hopes, jobs, frustrations, or fears. This book is a collection of their voices and reflections on living in the world’s fastest-growing human habitat—the slums. These are the places we live.
Make sure to check out his Magnum portfolio and a few images from the book.
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