Description

Born in England, Welsh photographer David Hurn moved back to Wales in 1970, initially for a year but in the end he never left. An old school documentary photographer, Hurn describes his approach as lacking an agenda: “I just go and involve myself in what’s happening and try to discover for myself what I think is significant about that particular place. I try to be open-minded about it. I’m not a propagandist about it, I’m not trying to put forward a particular view of Wales,” he says.

Life, as it unfolds in front of the camera, is full of so much complexity, wonder, and surprise that I find it unnecessary to create new realities. There is more pleasure, for me, in things as they are

David Hurn
© David Hurn | Magnum Photos

A self-taught photographer, David Hurn (b.1934) began his career in 1955 as an assistant at the Reflex Agency. He gained his early reputation through his reportage of the 1956 Hungarian revolution and became a full member of Magnum Photos in 1967. In 1973 he set up the influential School of Documentary Photography in Newport, Wales and remained director until 1989.

His work is held in major collections including British Council, London; ICP, New York, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Bibliothèque nationale de France and National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, amongst others.

David Hurn continues to live in, and work from his home in Tintern, Wales.

© David Hurn | Magnum Photos

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