Ragnar Axelsson: Eyes on the Arctic
Ragnar Axelsson is one of the most persistent and passionate documentary photographers of our time. An Icelander, pilot, visual storyteller, and chronicler of the far North, he has devoted more than four decades to photographing life in the most inhospitable regions of the planet: the Arctic, Greenland, and Siberia.
What drew you to photography, and to the North and its people?
ComeIwhen I was still very young. In Islândia, the childwereweresent to farms during the Vto grow and learn. I alsospentspent about six or eightsummers like that. Some of my best photographs from that timetime – I must have been about ten years old – it was about the farms and the people in their surroundings. Since then, I’ve I was thinking about the future, asking myself: “How can Iin in 50 or 100 years?” I thought a lot about that, about how the planet would change. I’ve always thought that way.
And the Ártico, how does it come about?
I was fascinated by those photographs incredi,, with the work of the great photggraphers. From the,there was no turning back. I read some very intriguing books on Arctic,, about explorers who set out in search of a continent in the PNorthNorth, traveling for years on end in freezing conditions, and that fascinatedme deeply. It was thenthat I met the inuits – what great heroeses! – and then, finally, everything.
Then an inner struggle arose: I wanted to be a pilot, a photographerphotographer, or both? I ended up doing both. I can fly, take pictures from my plane, visit places inaccessible…… and I love. When I finished my flight training, there were no jobs for pilots, so I became a phota. Every day was a different, fun adventure. I left the newspaper when I realized it was urgent to photograph and document life in AntarcticArctic. Everything was changing rapidly , and I needed to record it.
What signs did you see of that speed?
The abandonment of villages and small towns, especially in Greenlandândia and Sibis. JThere were already 14 completely deserted villages, and I felt it was essential to document this. The glaciers are melting, and there are many changes,, especially in ArcticArctic — is there that everything eats.. It’s like the meatfof the planet. And thisit getting warmer. But I’m not preaching anything, nor am I the one to explain that. I’ll leave that job to the scientists. My role is different:or like a little dog barking…
To draw attention, to warn of danger?
What doesI is photograph the changesinin the life of Ártico,people, the way they live. The communities of caareare disappearing. The same is happening in Sibia. The tundra isis thawing. It was flat terrain – nowthere holes everywhere. Theare, the reindeer herders… their future is uncertain. When things like this happen, everything changes. For me, this role – the one of documenting this – is very important.
IslâIndia is your home, but itita it your theme. How do you deal with this closeness and, at the same time, maintainens a distanceânce ?
Sometimessometimes, I feel a bit like Robinson Crusoeis on an island. The onlyonly person he could talk to at the time was “Friday” – whatever his name was. But he had no interest in photography whatsoever. I’ve always been a bit of a loner. When I worked at the newspaper, I was sent to Africafrica and realized that all the photosphotographersphotographers in the world were therethere taking the same pictures. So I decided to go to cold places, where almost nowaswas heading at the time. Today, everyone goes there; they ride in a back icebergs icebergs, photographerthemthem. It’s beautiful, and thisit’s fine with that. But I focus on people and their surroundings.
What do you do to avoid romanticizing these landscapes?
I am in the largest and most beautiful gallery in the world, surrounded by most impressive . And I amphotographphotographing this beauty, but I’m trying to showitit throughthepeople and the environment around them. I have been following the community of ca, which isis in decling.. When I arrived, there were 60 ca;; today there are only 10, distributedoutacross threeofvillages.
I took a picture of the llast man living in a village called Cape Hope, Cape of Hope. His name was Emil Jens. Me, my friend Hjalmar , and another guydoghunter throughthethe mountains, we went toto village and tookitback back – he was going to the hospital; he was sick and would be leaving the village. It was the llast man there. When he looked at behindthem,toward the village, he said something in thenandlandês. I asked Hjalmar: “What did he say?” And he replied: “I haven’t”anyany hopeatat the Cape of Good Hope....” It was at that very moment that I captured the image. It is an important moment – the llast words of a man, the llast to leave his village.
We can say that the changesarewill, which form the basis of your work, alsohaveshaped your choices photographicandand your priorities over the years?
Yes. They came with me. HThere’s a lot going on and a lot to do. And I really do like taking pictures in the cold, even though it’s extremely difftodifficult. JI in war zones—in the BBaltic,, when people were being shot in the streets, with dead bodies in sight. I was therethere there taking pictures, andI felt scared afterward. But this –taking photos in Arcticrctic – is a hundred times more diffto.. We battle the cold, the environment. When you’re shooting at minus 48 or 50 degrees, you can’t make mistakes. J’ve frozen many times, and my hands still hurt when I think about it.
A few a few years ago, I photographed a man in Thule, in Greenlandândia. I took off my gloves for just ten minutes just to capture that moment. I love this photograph, but soIhate it when I see it. It’s a powerful image. I look at it and say: “Ah,thereyou! I hate you, but alsolikelike you.” Because dó. But it was worth it. You can’t fail.
What stories do you tell in the book The Hunter from Ittoqqortoormiit?
This piece depicts my friend Hjelmer Hammeken, probably the man with the world record for cap: he has bagged 326 bears. I followed him and photographed him over the course of 35 years. When I first went to Ittoqqortoormiit, in a remote regionof Greenlandâ,, there was threeêsmall villages with about 650 people. It was one of the most isolated areas on the planet. The clestwas was 800 kilmetersmeters away, and the two smaller villageswere have been abandoned; in llatter , only 325 people now live.
The Hjelmer sent me an email ha a few years ago, saying that sea ice jwillit and that they couldn’t reach to other village. He wrote: “I miss the old Gronelândia.” Sarethese storiesstoriesthat made me want to give them a voice in the world. Because they are, in fact, somewhat overlooked. Many things happenthere without anyoneknowsknows. I don’t know if that village will survive. It is unsustainableto.. It’s too far from everything, andthere are two ships a year bringing supplies.
The what have what did these people teach you?
They taught me to respect nature, to be a part of it. And alsototo be humble. That’s what I find beautiful about them. Theytalsosoand kind, for the most!... I found out that all these people want to be friends and ask about each other. Hare eight pagespagescountries in AntArctic, and now they’re all fighting among themselves. I think the polpoliticianspoliticiansneedcalm down and startstartengage in dialogue. One cannot ignore the Rú,, for example. It is the largest countrysin Arctic. It would be extremelysillytotoit. And then we’ll all be in trouble, because the whole world will eventually turn toit. Nitit no no wonder the United Statessaid they wanted to buy the Gronllândia.
Because of the matit is-cousinsraw
A Gronelândia has it all.verything you can find on the planet – gold, diamonds, petroooil, all minerals – may be found in Greenlandândia, under the ice. The oldest rock on the planet isthere, at 3.8 billion years old.
Have you seen your work make an impact directimpacton on policyp, or in perceptionpublicon on this issue?
It may be that, for some people, yes. We are alsomakingmaking a film about this, to accompany the book The Hunter fromIttoqqortoormiit. Wewe filming later, but it’s good to seehim speak. It may be that somethingism hiita. But don’tknow ifthere talk to the police. II really don't know. Some don’t even know what they’re talking about…
Do you feel that you’reyou building a visual archive for the future?
I hope so. Because therealready places I’vehaven’tno exist exactly as I photographed them. That is Hhisto. And what I said before – that I felt like Robinson Crusoeis in the world of photography –remains true. They thought: “Who is this guy, coming from that island?” But I don’t care. If notsee'sin what we’re doing, the problem is theirs. I know that manyphotographersphotographers went to GreenlandâIndia after what I did; some evenit told me that directly.
When I went therethere for the first time, there were almost no photosphotographers. I met with the cahunterson the ice, thenarwhals,narwhals, wearing fur clothing and in kayaks – in the traditional style. This isdisappearing disappearing. You can stillno in the Nnorth of Greenlandâ,, with real kayaks and made of polar bear skin. But in the Lof Greenland, they they wear different clothes – não is the same thing. It’s like riding a piecetheaterwith the actors wearing the wrong costumes.
Whyshoot take black-and-white photos?
My father was a photamateuramateur photographer and encouraged me to take pictures. I was always with him in the darkroom darkroomwhen he developed the photos, and I fell in love with that atmosphere. For me, a photograph is much more powerful in black and white. Nonodistractions distractionsdistractionsin color. I know that the world is full of color, but you can create atmosphere in a photograph with burning and dodging. I’ve probably spent about 15,000 hours in the darkroom, so I can work on an image my my own way. Sometimestimes it takes me a long time tomanage manage to print a photo exactly the way I want it.
These days I work alsowithwith digital, using both film andâ. With digital, I try to workas if I were in the darkroom. In documentary work, you can’t manipulate or add anything. But in black and white I can create burning and dodging, and dodothe do on the computer.
Does going digital mean we lose something? Or do we gain more than we lose?
I really enjoy the movie. When I come back with 100 rolls, it’s like it’s Christmas. When I developandthem, it’s like opening presents: let’s see if the photos turned out well. Now vcanright away on the viewfinder, but I try not to look at the images on thecameracamera. If I messed up, I messed up. But with digital, we have many more photos on a memory card than on a roll of film. HThere something special about film – it’s like making a vinyl record instead of a CD. But I like both.
What did did photography take away from you? And what did it give you in return?
That’s a good question. The photograph is my life. I love it, I respect it. I admire many photphotographersphotographers all over the world. My mentor was Mary Ellen Mark, ag. Her passion was immense. She worked for almost atis the thelast days of life – he died in 2015 – and had an energy that I don’t have. I’m very active, but she was on anotherlevellevel. And Eugene Smith, tooisAmerican… Hare so many great photsphotographers I admire..To me, they’re like painters, and I believe they’ll be even more respected in the future.
Sometimessometimes, I think the art world puts photography into little boxes, while documentánis knows exactly where itfit in. But, if we think about it, Van Gogh, for example, wasn’t eitherisa spwasof a documentary painter? And today is considered one of the greatest artists in the world. It’s something people should reflect on. Some photphotographers areare creating works incredwork,that will stand the test of time. But today it’s more difftoto to attract to attention. When the Beatles and the Rolling Stones became famous, there were about 3,000 million people on the planet. Today there are about 8,000 million. It’s much more difftoto to stand out among so many people.
The photograph isishad its preappearance: vor very far to get a shot and jI put myself in danger many times. The problem is that I’m still in good shape: I’m 67 and feel like I’m 21. But II’ve frozen many times; my fingers hurt… many of my fingershavegot frostbite. But that’s part of it. Without that, this job wouldn’t possiblepossible.
Share a lesson you’ve kept to yourself life...
My editor gave it to me when I started working at the newspaper. He was a very intelligent man. One day he said to me: “I’m going to give you a mirror. You must reflect the world, notyourselfyyourself.” But something has changed in media, somethinghashas turned the mirror oppositethe. Today, part of photography has become this: girls and boys shaking their butts in in front of a waterfall to take a selfie. To me, that is justgreatfor a áalbum of family,, but it has nothing to do with documenting the historyóof the planet. For me, that is the role of the photg: to document. That is what photography should do. And the art world alsoshouldrealize that photography must be a voice for the world. It can be street , landscape, whatever it, but it has to say something. It can’t just be a pretty picture. HThere photographs that have changed the world. Like the one of the girl running from a bomb ata, or Tomoko in theBath, by Eugene Smith, which led to reductionof of waterwater in Japan.
There are images that provoke change.. And I really hope that some of mine manage to open the eyes of someoneone, to show life in AntarcticArctic, give a voice tothose people. That is what I try to do: reflect the world, notto myselfto.. Over the years, I have a littleverygreat photographs of myself,because this isn’tis is about me, it’sabout what doIdo. And if a singlesingle photograph manages to touch someoneone, inspire thecor or generate awarenessance, andance all effortwaswas worth it.
