On Friday, 2 November 2018, from 7 to 8.30 p.m., Fritt Ord and The Norwegian Journal of Photography invite the public to a rare meeting with the legendary Magnum photographer Raghu Rai, at Uranienborgveien 2, Oslo.
Espen Rasmussen, photographer and co-editor of the Norwegian Journal of Photography, will be the moderator. Visit the event’s Facebook site here.
For more than 50 years, the Indian photographer has documented some of the largest, most important historical events in his home country and on the sub-continent, in addition to shooting portraits of familiar figures such as Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama. The 74-year-old Raghu Rai continues to be very active, publishing 40 photo books thus far, in addition to having a number of retrospective exhibitions the world over, e.g. at the Museo Dei Capitolini in Italy and the Rencontres d’Arles in France.
In November, the Magnum photographer will be visiting Norway, where he will talk about how he has witnessed the tremendous change in India over the past 50 years, the war in Bangladesh, the unrest in Kashmir and the collapse of the Soviet Union, etc. Some of his most famous photographs are from the Bhopal disaster in India. The pictures were decisive in shaping the West’s opinion of the tragic gas accident that killed thousands and left more than half a million people hurt.
Raghu Rai was invited to join Magnum Photo in 1971 by one of the founders, Henrik Cartier Bresson. At that time, he had already spent several years shooting photographs of Indian citizens in cities and villages all across the country. It was not easy to make a living as a photographer in India back then, but Raghu Rai’s charisma and way with people were rumoured to affect everyone with whom he came into contact. This has made his photographs important documentation of India’s untold history. The photographer talks about his work as follows:
«To me, the camera is an instrument for learning. When you look through it, you achieve a kind of concentration. In these concentrated moments, you can penetrate and discover the unseen – the unknown. You learn about yourself and the world.»
The event is free of charge and open to the public.
