For some, photography is a tool of empathy. A picture can, to an extent, put you into the life of another. Jonas Bendiksen's new photo series The Places We Live envokes empathy well, and does so by actually putting you into the homes of those who live in the slum areas of Caracas, Venezuela; Mumbai, India; Nairobi, Kenya; and Jakarta, Indonesia. He does this with an interesting use of panoramas to give the viewers a sort of tour inside the homes of families like the Aroris in Kibera, Kenya (below).
Bendiksen also sets the context of the situation in slums well. The series photographs the lives of these growing slums, and the culture and history that has formed there. The photographs are in a sort of color that is very familiar with Bendiksen's work. The colors are very surreal, with a musk of nostalgia to it.
The series will be exhibited at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway on June 6, 2008, and January 31, 2009. If Norway is out of your reach like it is for me, you can check out the photos on The Places We Live website. The book The Places We Live is also available now on Amazon, or you could pick up a signed copy at Magnum's online store .
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