Örjan Henriksson – Auschwitz

More than forty years ago I was urged by my father to learn about the time before the Second World War and to recognize the signs of the time, should they ever emerge again. Though seemingly beautiful, these black-and-white, tranquil photographs depict a brutal inhumanity. This suite of images makes no claim to be documentary. They are only my personal expression of my impressions during the week I spent at the Auschwitz camp I and 2. In my photographs I am wanting to portray the emptiness that remains as a record of the humiliation, torture, and murder of those people imprisoned in Auschwitz. These are not ostentatious images that scream out loud. Instead, I let the walls and surfaces depict the total silence that only death leaves behind.

– Örjan Henriksson

Örjan Henriksson is one of Sweden’s foremost photographers, with a low-key and concentrated storytelling in image form. He loves the analog black and white photography and has had a number of high-profile exhibitions around the world. In 2015, he was awarded the first Bindefeld Scholarship in memory of the Holocaust.