Description

In 2012 Danish photographer Jacob Aue Sobel embarked on a journey along the Trans Siberian Railway. “I was curious if the connection between people and places would feel different considering the fact that I would pass every tree, every house and every village on my way to Beijing,” says Sobel. “The intimate work had to come from my encounters with people in the cities and the train became the thread connecting Moscow, Ulaanbaartar and Beijing.” This was Sobel’s first time in Russia, Mongolia and China – and his first time using a digital camera. “Everything was new, but then again, my ambition is always the same; to use the camera as a tool to create contact, closeness and intimacy. I want to meet people, to connect with the cities, to make the places mine, even if it’s just for a short while.”

Taking snapshots supports the feeling of something unpredictable and playful

Jacob Aue Sobol
© Jacob Aue Sobol | Magnum Photos

Jacob Aue Sobol was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1976. He lived in Canada from 1994-95 and Greenland from 2000-2002. After studying at the European Film College, Aue Sobol was admitted to Fatamorgana, the Danish School of Documentary and Art Photography in 1998. There he developed a unique, expressive style of black-and-white photography, which he has since refined and further developed.

Aue Sobol is known for his unique, expressive style of black-and-white photography, which focuses on the universality of human emotion and the search for love within oftentimes harsh surroundings. He has made significant work in Tokyo, China, Greenland, Guatemala and along the Trans-Siberian railway. Aue Sobol became a member of Magnum Photos in 2012.

© Jacob Aue Sobol | Magnum Photos

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