Jonas Bendiksen (born 1977) is a Norwegian photojournalist based near Oslo.[1][2] He has published the books Satellites (2006) and The Places We Live (2008) and received awards from World Press Photo, International Center of Photography, National Magazine Awards and Pictures of the Year International. Bendiksen is a member of Magnum Photos and has served as its president.

Jonas Bendiksen
Born1977 (age 46–47)
NationalityNorwegian

Life and work edit

Bendiksen was born in Tønsberg, in Vestfold county, southern Norway in 1977.

He lived in Russia for several years. The time he spent there resulted in his book, Satellites - Photographs from the Fringes of the former Soviet Union, about separatist republics in the former USSR, published in 2006.

For three years he photographed slum communities in Nairobi in Kenya, Mumbai in India, Jakarta in Indonesia, and Caracas in Venezuela, for The Places We Live, a book published in 2008, and an exhibition containing projections and voice recordings.

Bendiksen became a Magnum Photos nominee in 2004 and a member in 2008. In 2010 he was its president.[3]

The Last Testament (2017) follows seven men around the world who claim to be the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

In 2021, in The Book of Veles, Bendiksen departed from the photojournalism practice by creating a conceptual work about "fake news" which consisted of images that were "faked" using CGI to place humans and bears in scenes that Bendiksen had photographed devoid of life, mixed with excerpts from The Book of Veles (a forged ancient text), and AI-generated texts. The deception, initially not disclosed, escaped detection from his colleagues at Magnum and then curators and audiences at the Visa Pour l'Image festival, until Bendiksen revealed it on the Magnum Photos website.[4] It questioned the ability of the most visually literate people in the photography industry to tell real photos from faked ones[5]

Personal life edit

As of 2022, Bendiksen lives with his wife and three children near Oslo.[2]

Bibliography edit

Books edit

  • Bendiksen, Jonas (2006). Satellites : photographs from the fringes of the former Soviet Union. New York: Aperture.
  • The Places We Live. New York: Aperture, 2008. ISBN 978-1597110679.
  • The Last Testament. New York: Aperture, 2017. ISBN 978-1597114288.
  • The Book of Veles. London: Gost Books, 2021. ISBN 978-1910401613.
Anthologies

Articles edit

  • Bendiksen, Jonas (August 2017). "Messiah complex". National Geographic. 232 (2): 82–93.

Exhibitions edit

Film appearances edit

  • Space Tourists (2009). Directed by Christian Frei. Feature-length documentary.[8]
  • Water: Our Thirsty World (2010). Directed by Steven Kochones. 21 minute short.[9]

Awards edit

  • 2003: Infinity Award, Young Photographer category, International Center of Photography, New York.[10]
  • 2004: Second prize, Daily Life Stories category, World Press Photo Awards, World Press Photo, Amsterdam.[11]
  • 2007: The Paris Review won the Photojournalism category, National Magazine Awards, for Bendiksen's documentary of life in a Nairobi slum, Kibera.[12]
  • 2008: Telenor Culture Award, from Telenor, Bærum, Norway.[13]
  • 2013: Award of Excellence, Feature Story Editing - Magazine category, Seventieth Pictures of the Year International Competition, Pictures of the Year International with Elizabeth Krist and Elaine Bradley, for "Russian Summer" in National Geographic.[14]
  • 2014: First place, Sports Story Editing category, Pictures of the Year International, with Elizabeth Krist and Elaine Bradley, for "On the Trail with the First Skiers" in National Geographic.[15]
  • 2014: Award of Excellence, Sports Picture Story category, Pictures of the Year International, for "The Last of the First Skiers".[16]

References edit

  1. ^ "Jonas Bendiksen". Magnum Photos. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b "About". Jonas Bendiksen. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  3. ^ A Year in Photography: Magnum Archive. Prestel Publishing, Magnum Photos. 2010. ISBN 978-3-7913-4435-5.
  4. ^ "The Book of Veles: How Jonas Bendiksen Hoodwinked the Photography Industry | Magnum Photos Magnum Photos".
  5. ^ Kenneth Dickerman (16 October 2021) [2021-10-15]. "Do these photos look real to you? Your answer could be cause for concern. And that's terrifying". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.[please check these dates]
  6. ^ "Magnum Photos: New Blood". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 March 2014. Photographic cooperative Magnum is celebrating its 60th anniversary with an exhibition across two venues that brings together the work of five Associate Members: Antoine D'Agata, Jonas Bendiksen, Trent Parke, Mark Power and Alec Soth.
  7. ^ McFarlane, Robert (21 August 2007). "Magnum uncorks champagne moments". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 March 2014. New Blood at Stills Gallery features Soth and four other new members of Magnum Photos, including Trent Parke, the first Australian invited to join the agency.
  8. ^ "Space Tourists (2009)", IMDb. Accessed 16 November 2014.
  9. ^ "Water: Our Thirsty World (2010)", IMDb. Accessed 16 November 2014.
  10. ^ "Infinity Awards 1996-2006". International Center of Photography. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  11. ^ "2004, Jonas Bendiksen, 2nd prize, Daily Life stories". World Press Photo. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  12. ^ "National Magazine Awards 2007 Winners Announced". American Society of Magazine Editors. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  13. ^ "Telenor's culture prize to Jonas Bendiksen". Telenor. 22 September 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  14. ^ "Award of Excellence". Pictures of the Year International. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  15. ^ "First Place". Pictures of the Year International. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  16. ^ "Award of Excellence". Pictures of the Year International. Retrieved 16 November 2014.

External links edit