Ann Inger Johansson
January 5 – May 3, 2020
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- Bhutanese refugees line up to receive food distributed by the Red Cross at Beldangi II refugee camp run by UNHCR, near Birtamod, Nepal, September 10, 1997. I was not a refugee.
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- A newly built border fence stands East of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico, January 31, 2007. We are treated differently based on something no one has any control over – what skin color we are born with.
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- Zainab Kamara, 2 months, sleep by a sewage filled gutter in Susan’s Bay slum in Freetown, Sierra Leone, November 11, 2008. I didn’t flee extreme poverty.
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- Four children share one meal in Susan’s Bay slum in Freetown, Sierra Leone, November 9, 2008. I didn’t flee starvation.
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- A fisherman shows his hands, calloused from pulling nets, in Aberdeen near Freetown, Sierra Leone, November 15, 2008. More than 20 men helped haul fishing nets all morning for a meager catch that left many without fish. I didn’t flee financial hardship.
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- A Palestinian child stands in front of a closed Palestinian shop with graffiti reading ‘KILL ALL ARABS’ in Hebron, the West Bank, Palestinian Territories, April 8, 2003. A curfew was imposed on Palestinian shops by Israeli forces in the city center of Hebron. I didn’t feel hatred because of my ethnicity.
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- Members of the “Front Deliberation Forces Armees D’Haiti”, part of Guy Philippe’s rebel army, search for Chimere fighters in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, February 29, 2004. I didn’t flee violence.
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- People gather looking at a man tortured and killed overnight man killed in left on a street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, February 28, 2004. I didn’t fear for my life.
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- Palestinians carry the body of Ghaseb Mahmoud al-Hawarin during his funeral in in the town of Dahriya, South of Hebron in the West Bank, Sunday April 13, 2003. Al-Hawarin was killed by Israeli soldiers in clashes in Hebron yesterday. I didn’t have to bury a friend killed in a political struggle.
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- A person, who has illegally passed in to the U.S., is allowed to walk back in to Mexico instead of swimming in the New River, the most polluted river in North America, in Calexico, Monday, March 21, 2005. I didn’t have to sneak across the border.
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- Men, who have just been caught crossing in to the the United States illegally, sit in the back of a U.S. Border Patrol truck still wearing foam under their shoes in order to disguise their tracks, along the U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Arizona, January 31, 2007. I didn’t have to hide my tracks.
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- U.S. Border Patrol Senior Patrol Agent Enrique Lozano, second left, search a person who crossed in to the U.S. illegally, in Calexico, April 26, 2005. I have never been arrested.
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- A young boy sits next to his mother while a woman fills out a paper in the back of a U.S. Border Patrol truck after they have been apprehended crossing in to the United States illegally, along the U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Arizona, January 31, 2007. I have never feared for my family’s safety.
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- People sleep in the holding room where families with minors are kept, at the U.S. Border Patrol’s Yuma Station, in Yuma, Arizona, January 31, 2007. I have never been detained.
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- Juan Gonzalez, 12, left, pose for photographs with his mother Carmen as they speak with each other through the fence separating the U.S. and Mexico, in Calexico, Monday, March 21, 2005. I have never been separated from my family by force.
Artist Statement
Privileged
Privileged
priv·i·leged
priv(ə)lijd
adjective
having special rights, advantages or immunities.
As a career photojournalist, I have been photographing issues about immigration for decades. My intimate experience with this subject has allowed me to witness the hypocrisy of today’s immigration policies. It has also made me keenly aware that I too am an immigrant, a white immigrant. In this time of heightened scrutiny of immigrants from some parts of the world I am deeply troubled by what is happening and at the same time acutely aware of the advantages being a white immigrant has granted me.
My project “Privileged” is a reaction to the disparities I recognize because of the color of my skin.
In “Privileged” I juxtapose staged photographs of my white skin with images I have taken, while working as a photojournalist, that speak to different aspects of immigration. “Privileged” represents my personal experience as well as the current “sacredness” of white United States of America and the perceived ”invasion” by people who do not look liked the privileged group.
Note: the skin images have been partially re-touched to give a “pristine” fake reality leaving the hidden part of each image un-retouched.
Bio
Born in Göteborg, Sweden, Ann Inger Johansson primarily uses documentary photography to look at social, political and environmental issues, from today’s heated debates about immigration to the long-term consequences of climate change.
Ann has 20 years of experience working as a freelance photojournalist for publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Le Monde, The Smithsonian and Der Spiegel among many others.
Ann was commissioned by Klimahaus, a 200,000 sq. ft. educational space about climates and climate change in Bremerhaven, Germany, to travel to six countries and document people living in different climate zones. Her work can be seen throughout “The Journey” exhibition.
Her photographs are part of The Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, permanent collection and she recently exhibited in group shows at FotoNostrum in Barcelona, Spain and at the Houston Center for Photography in Houston, USA.
Ann Inger Johansson is based in Los Angeles.
CV
Professional Summary
Ann Inger Johansson has 20 years of experience working as a freelance photojournalist. Ann is committed to a long-term project visually connecting causes, effects and impacts of climate change globally with the ultimate goal of making all aspect of climate change relatable on a personal level.
Professional Experience 1998 – Present
Photographing news, features, and portraits within the United States and internationally on a full-time basis for numerous clients including Associated Press, Bild am Sonntag, The Chicago Tribune, Der Spiegel, Getty Images, The Globe and Mail, Handelsblatt, Klimahaus Museum, Le Monde, Los Angeles Times, Medecins Sans Frontieres, MSNBC.com, New York Times, Pacific Institute for Women’s Health, The Smithsonian Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Stern Magazine, UCLA Health System and UNICEF.
Public Collection
The Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA.
Book Publication
Johansson, A. (2015). CAUSE + CELEB: 90 Portraits + 40 Causes = 1 Mission . San Rafael, CA: Channel Photographics.
Exhibitions
2019
13th Julia Margaret Cameron Award Exhibition, FotoNostrum, Barcelona, Spain.
2017
Annual Juried Membership Exhibition, Houston Center for Photography, TX, USA.
2015
Solo Exhibition. CAUSE+CELEB, The Braid, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
2009
Annenberg Space for Photography, Picture of the Year International Slide Show.
Publications
Author: Morelli, Jenny. USA: CSR en ny trend . Fotografisk Tidskrift 6. 2012.
Author: Smith, Rosalind, The Path of Ann Johansson; A Life Dedicated to Recording Humanity, Shutterbug . 2005.
On-line Publications
The Guardian . Climate Visuals photography award 2019: winners and shortlisted . 2019.
Author: Smithson, Aline. Privileged . Lenscratch , Fine Art Photography Daily . 2018.
Dab Art’s Quarterly Arts Publication GENESIS.2018.
Awards & Recognition
2019
Climate Visuals Photography Award 2019. Winner
14th Julia Margaret Cameron Award, Honorable Mention, Landscapes & Seascapes, Series, Flooded,
14th Julia Margaret Cameron Award
Prix de la Photographie Paris, Honorable Mention, Portrait Series, Illuminated
Prix de la Photographie Paris, Honorable Mention, Street Photography, Coal Transporters
International Photography Awards, 2nd Place, Portrait Series, Illuminated
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Portrait Single, Illuminated
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Deeper Perspective, The Face of Coal
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Feature story, The Face of Coal
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Environmental Single, Coal Burned
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Environmental Single, Coal Coked
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Environmental Single, Coal Extracted
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Environmental Single, Coal Transported
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, People, Children, Coal Transported
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Environmental Single, Flooded
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Environmental Single
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, People, Street Photography, Coal Transported
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Environmental Single, Oil Extracted
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Environmental Series, Flooded
International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, Environmental Single, Innundated
13th Julia Margaret Cameron Award, Winner, Portrait Series.
13th Julia Margaret Cameron Award, Honorable Mention, Documentary & Reportage Series.
13th Julia Margaret Cameron Award, Honorable Mention, Landscapes & Seascapes Series.
2018
Dab Art’s Quarterly Arts Publication GENESIS.
12th Pollux Award. Winner, Landscapes & Seascapes Series.
12th Pollux Award. Honorable Mention, Segregation & Human Rights Series.
12th Julia Margaret Cameron Award. Honorable Mention, Landscapes & Seascapes Series.
12th Julia Margaret Cameron Award. Honorable Mention, Segregation & Human Rights.
2008
Press Photographers of Greater Los Angeles. First Place, Photo Essay.
Press Photographers of Greater Los Angeles. First Place, Feature Coverage.
Press Photographers of Greater Los Angeles. Third Place, Portrait Personality.
2004
National Press Photographers Association. First Place, The Arts.
Speaking Engagements / Workshops / Judging
2018 Open Show – Pasadena East LA.
2017 Guest Speaker, Emerson College Los Angeles Center, CA.
2015 Portrait photography workshop, FOTOFUSION, FL.
2015 Documentary photography workshop, FOTOFUSION, FL.
2014 Judging RICOH Theta 360 Degree Camera Competition.
Professional Affiliations
American Society of Media Photographers.
National Press Photographers Association.
Press Photographers of Greater Los Angeles.
Svenska Fotografers Förbund (Sweden).
Society of Environmental Journalists.
SoCal Science Writing
