Description

For over half a century, Bruno Barbey has travelled all over the world and found his voice both as an artist and an explorer. Becoming a member of Magnum at age 25, his work is a testament to 55 years of history and reflects his sensibility and insatiable thirst for the unknown. Barbey has photographed Japan frequently over a number of years. Pictured here, a painted pedestrian crosswalk in downtown Tokyo in 1985.

Most of the time I take photographs to document for posterity, traditions and cultures rapidly vanishing as a result of changing consumer attitudes

Bruno Barbey
© Bruno Barbey | Magnum Photos

Bruno Barbey was born in Morocco and has dual nationality – French and Swiss. He studied photography and graphic arts at the École des Arts et Métiers in Vevey, Switzerland.

From 1961 to 1964 he photographed the Italians, with the aim of capturing the spirit of a nation and covered the riots in Paris in May, 1968. Over five decades Bruno Barbey has worked in all five continents and covered wars and conflicts in Nigeria, Vietnam, the Middle East, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Kuwait, as well as personal projects in Morocco and China.

His work has appeared in the world’s major magazines and he has published over 30 books.­­­­­ He became a full Magnum member in 1968.

© Bruno Barbey | Magnum Photos

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