Born in Iceland in 1958, Ragnar Axelsson started his photography career at a young age. When he was 16, he started training in a photographer’s atelier (studio) and by the time he was 18, Axelsson was a staff photographer for the Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið.
Axelsson’s photos focus mostly on the people of the Arctic region. He showcases the lives of hunters, fishermen and farmers in places like Northern Canada, Greenland, Siberia and Scandinavia. One of the reasons he is so diligent in recording the lives of the native peoples of the Arctic is because Axelsson believes that the traditional cultures and ways of life for the Arctic people are disappearing.
Axelsson’s most famous works include Faces of the North, which is from 2004. This exhibit, which is also a book, takes a look at the lives of people who live in the remote northern regions of the world. The Last Days of the Arctic is from 2010. This work is more about climate change and how it affects the hunters in Greenland and Canada. His 2013 exhibit Behind the Mountains is a series of 100 photos that were taken over a 25-year period. It shines a spotlight on the local farmers and his relationship with them over time. One of the highlights of this exhibit is the focus on the farmers’ annual sheep round up in the Icelandic highlands.
