Pro in focus
Olivia Arthur
Ahead of her appearance at The Photography Show, this documentary photographer tells Graeme Green about capturing unseen worlds
Carnival party in Stommeln, near Cologne, Germany, 2013.
Olivia Arthur/Magnum Photos
From Hull to Saudi Arabia, Olivia Arthur has shown her viewers moments from private or ‘unseen’ worlds. “An element of peeking behind closed doors is important for me,” she says. “In many ways, photography is all about taking people on a journey you’re going on, showing them something they might not have the opportunity to see.”
Arthur’s work often captures people at home, in bedrooms or living spaces, including quiet moments and couples naked in bed. “Intimacy, closeness and the relationships between people are all subjects that interest me,” she explains. “I’m fascinated by human relations and how we interact with each other. It’s about looking at those little moments and trying to talk about something bigger.”
Born in London, Arthur’s first experience with a camera was picking up her mother’s Pentax ME Super. She developed a love for photography at Oxford University, working on the student newspaper, going on to study photojournalism at the London College of Printing. After graduating, she moved to Delhi in 2003 to start work as a photographer, and has been on the move since, including an early residency with the Fabrica ‘idea factory’ in Italy and projects in France, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Russia and Iran.