Olivia Arthur is a British documentary photographer. She co-founded
Fishbar, a publisher and space for photography in London, with
Philipp Ebeling in 2010. Arthur is a member of the
Magnum Photos agency and has produced the books
Jeddah Diary (2012) and
Stranger (2015).
Originally studying mathematics at Oxford University, Arthur later studied photojournalism at London College of Printing. She became a nominee member of Magnum Photos in 2008, an associate member in 2011, and a full member in 2013. In 2010 Arthur co-founded Fishbar, a publisher and space for photography in East London, with her husband Philipp Ebeling. Her first book
Jeddah Diary (2012) is about the lives of young women in Saudi Arabia. Her second book
Stranger (2015) views Dubai through the eyes of the survivor of a shipwreck.
Source: Wikipedia
Olivia Arthur is known for her in-depth photography examining people and their personal and cultural identities. Much of her work has illuminated the daily lives of women living in countries as varied as Saudi Arabia, India and across Europe. A more recent focus on large format portraiture has brought her work back to the UK.
“For me, part of the power of still photography is the ambiguousness of pictures, the ability to give a hint about a scene or event without being too absolute,” says Arthur of her work.
Arthur was born in London and grew up in the UK. She studied mathematics at Oxford University and photojournalism at the London College of Printing. She began working as a photographer in 2003 after moving to Delhi and was based in India for two and a half years. In 2006, she left for Italy to take up a one-year residency with Fabrica, during which she began working on a series about women and cultural divides. Representation and the way we see ourselves are also areas of interest for Arthur. She explored these themes in her project In Private/Mumbai (2016-2018) about sexuality in India and through her ‘Portrait of a City’ commission about young people for Hull, City of Culture (2017).
Arthur’s work has been shown in publications including
The New Yorker,
Vogue and
TIME Magazine among others and selected commercial clients include British Airways, Capeb and BNP Paribas. She has received support from the
Inge Morath Award, the National Media Museum, OjodePez-PhotoEspana Award for Human Values.
Arthur continues to return to India and to work in London where she lives. She became a full member of Magnum Photos in 2013.
Source: Magnum Photos
