Description

Between 2012 and 2017, Jacob Aue Sobol travelled through Russia, Siberia and China for his seminal series, Arrivals and Departures. “The work,” he explains, “is a travel through time. Mile by mile, we cross the post-Communist superpowers and gradually move closer to something that once was distant and exotic.” This picture was taken while journeying on the Trans-Siberian railway. For Sobol, it is really a story about what connects us as human beings. “To me, it is an important story to tell: that in spite of different cultural backgrounds, politics, and beliefs, there are basic existential questions and emotions that connect us across borders.”

When I photograph, I try to use my instincts as much as possible. It is when pictures are unconsidered and irrational that they come to life; that they evolve from showing to being

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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