Other events in Baltic States

The exhibition “Life and Work” featuring rarely-seen collection of images of Sune Jonsson, (1930-2009) one of Sweden’s most important documentary photographers, will be presented at the Latvian Museum of Photography from May 2^nd.

This exhibition is presented in collaboration with Västerbottens Museum and Umeå 2014, European Capital of Culture in Sweden. Sune Jonsson is a unique documentary photographer, film maker and writer. Mostly in his works are captured rural landscapes, farmers and other countryside inhabitants.

The exhibition „Life and Work” features classic, celebrated images alongside others that are less well known. It is a collection of moments frozen in time. Depicting Swedish rural life in the 1960s, the images provide an illustration of a time of transformation. Working as field ethnologist for the Museum of Västerbotten in Umeå in the north of Sweden, Jonsson was perfectly positioned to witness and document the transition from agricultural to industrial society. Time is a central theme within Jonsson’s work; his beautifully still portraits appear to capture his subjects’ awareness of its steady passage around them. In contrast to the peaceful portraits of the Swedish farmers,  exhibition also includes strong images from the invasion of Prag in 1968. Sune Jonsson happened to be there at the time.

Sune Jonsson worked mostly in the Västerbotten region and in other parts of Sweden, but some of his projects have been made in Denmark, New York, Congo and Prag in the 60s and Canada in the 80s. In 1993 the photographer was awarded The Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography. He has produced 25 books and 20 documentary films during his lifetime and his photos have been shown in hundreds of exhibitions both in Sweden and other countries. The Sune Jonsson Centre of Documentary Photography (SJCD) in connection with the Museum of Västerbotten was opened in January 2014.