Swedish furniture brand IKEA has released two images from a series of photographs taken by Annie Leibovitz, its first-ever artist-in-residence, showing people in their homes across the world.
The American photographer, who is best known for her portraits, travelled to twenty-five homes around the globe to take photos of people in their residences. She visited houses and apartments in Sweden, India, Italy, Japan, Germany, England and the US.
“The home has always been important in my work,” Leibovitz said when appointed artist-in-residence in 2023.
“I’ve been photographing people in their homes since I began,” she added. “It’s a way to understand who a person is. The advice I give to young photographers is to photograph their families. It’s one of the best ways to start.”
Annie Leibovitz photographed 25 homes for IKEA, including this one in Germany
Leibovitz’s photos for IKEA show a variety of different interiors in seven different countries.
“The result is a powerful photographic document that illuminates the nuances of life at home – across borders, ethnicities and professions,” the furniture brand said of the project.
The series, which comprises 25 photos in total, was commissioned by IKEA after its IKEA Life at Home Report showed that 48 per cent of people globally don’t feel the media represents their home.
The first two images released by IKEA, show the homes of Yusuke Onimaru in Japan and Maria Arrechea in Germany – specifically Onimaru’s ceramic workshop and Arrechea’s living space filled with friends.
Leibovitz’s photos will be shown as part of the IKEA+ exhibition in Paris, which will take place during Paris Fashion Week.
It will also feature a collaboration with online radio station Rinse and showcase the Tesammans collection made by IKEA together with Eindhoven-basd design duo Raw Color.
Six emerging designers from the Casa93 fashion education program are also taking part in the IKEA+ showcase. They worked with “home furnishing mentors” from IKEA to create designs that focus on upcycling and sustainable design.
The photography is by Annie Leibovitz for IKEA.
IKEA+ will take place on 28 Rue de Lappe, Paris, from 29 February to 3 March. For more worldwide events, exhibitions and talks in architecture and design, visit Dezeen Events Guide.
Architectural photographer Jim Stephenson explains how The Architect Has Left The Building exhibition at RIBA aims to draw attention to how people use buildings, in this interview.
Despite taking place at the Architecture Gallery at the Royal Institute of British Architects’ central London HQ, Stephenson told Dezeen that the exhibition is not focused on buildings.
“The installation is about people watching,” he said. “Although it’s at the RIBA and in the architecture gallery, it’s not really about the buildings – they’re just the backdrop, they’re the stage set really.”
“We wanted to create a meditative, large scale film piece that was all about how people use (and misuse) space once the architect’s work is done,” he continued.
The Architect Has Left The Building is an exhibition at RIBA
As the exhibition’s title suggests, the exhibition focuses on how buildings are used after the architect’s work is finished.
It aims to show buildings in use, in contrast to the majority of architectural photography that often portrays buildings empty, at their point of completion.
“When I used to work in architecture practices, we used to design everything around people and context,” explained Stephenson. “It felt like everything was dictated by those two things and then when we would get projects photographed we’d ask the photographer to omit those two things.”
“The buildings were empty objects – sculptures,” he continued. “It always jarred with me, so in our work we focus on people using space as much as possible.”
The exhibition features the work of Jim Stephenson.
The exhibition include numerous photos taken by Stephenson, along with an enclosed screening room, where a film created for the exhibition was played on a dual screen.
“This film is all about the small interactions that occur in and around buildings – between individuals, groups of people and even between people and the buildings,” said Stephenson. “It’s all about the people!”
The film, which was created with artist Sofia Smith and has a soundtrack created by Simon James, contains numerous contemporary buildings from the past 15 years.
Among the buildings featured are Tintagel Castle Bridge by William Matthews Architects, Tate St Ives extension by Jamie Fobert, Sands End Arts and Community Centre by Mae Architects and London Bridge Station by Grimshaw, which were all shortlisted for the Stirling Prize.
The exhibition features a film screened on a dual screen
The film makes aims to makes people think about the connections between buildings and how people are connected to them.
“Watching Sofia make visual links between buildings that I hadn’t previously considered to have much in common was fascinating,” explained Stephenson.
“There’s a point in the film where we transition from Sands End Community Centre to Tintagel footbridge and it’s seamless – from a community centre in West London to a bridge over the sea in Cornwall!”
“And at London Bridge train station, Simon recorded not just the ambient sound that everyone can hear, but he also recorded the inner guts of the building with contact mics, as well as the sound in the electromagnetic spectrum,” he continued. “All those sounds get layered up in the show and I can’t go through that station now without thinking about them.”
It also features photos taken by Jim Stephenson
Stephenson hopes that the film will demonstrate how people improve architectural spaces and how they are recorded.
“The history of architectural photography is dominated by empty, glossy, new buildings, photographed before people have come in,” said Stephenson.
“I think there was a fear amongst architects that people ‘mess up their building’ and photographing them empty somehow showed the architecture in a more pure and distilled way,” he continued.
“I think that’s mad. If the people you designed the building for are ‘messing it up’ then maybe there’s something wrong with the building? I’m half joking, but I’ve never documented a space that wasn’t improved by people, or at the very least a sign of life.”
One of the UK’s best-known architectural photographers, Stephenson co-founded film production studio Stephenson& with Smith. Recent projects photographed by Stephenson include a wood-lined community space in east London, a rammed-earth yoga studio to the gardens of Somerset hotel and a rolling bridge in London.
Recent buildings captured on film by Stephenson& include a visitor centre at the UK’s largest sawmill and a school theatre by Jonathan Tuckey Design in London.
The photography is by Agnese Sanvito, unless stated. The film is by Jim Stephenson and Sofia Smith with soundtrack by Simon James.
The Architect Has Left The Building is at RIBA in London until 12 August 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
With the birth of the smartphone, millions of people around the world gained access to incredibly advanced cameras, opening up the world of architectural photography to the global public. But while anyone can snap a photo, it takes more to create a truly compelling image. What kind of photograph captures the essence of a place? What can it tell us about the people that live, work and play within it? Can a photograph tell us a larger story about the cultural context of a home, city or country?
With the 3rd Annual One Photo Challenge set to launch, we invite award-winning photographer and competition juror Ema Peter to explore answers to some of these questions. Hit the button below to register for this free live talk, set to take May 10th, 2022 at 1pm ET:
During the talk, we’ll look back at some of the best images from last season, examining the photography rules they follow — and which they break — to tell powerful stories about architecture.
How to harness unexpected lighting and composition to create a compelling architectural photograph
How to spot opportunities for a great photograph in different places and moments in time
What it’s like to be a professional architectural photographer and what it takes to succeed in the business
About Ema
Ema is the principle of Ema Peter Photography. In the past 10 years she has works with some of the largest architectural, interior design and engineering firms in North America. Ema’s photography has helped many of these firms reach award winning status. Her images have been published in Architectural Digest, Objekt International, Dwell, Wired, New York Times and many more. Ema holds a masters degree in art and applied photography from the national academy of theatre and film arts in Sofia Bulgaria as well as a PHD in Photojournalism.
She started her career as a TV anchor on Bulgarian National TV and then as an intern at Magnum Photo Agency in Paris. She then led one of the largest photography teams in North America at VRX Studios Inc. She was also the lead photographer for ad campaigns at Hilton, Hyatt and Fairmont and was responsible for creating photography standards for some of the top hotel brands around the world.
About Paul
Paul Keskeys is Editor in Chief at Architizer. An architect-trained editor, writer and content creator, Paul graduated from UCL and the University of Edinburgh, gaining an MArch in Architectural Design with distinction. Paul has spoken about the art of architecture and storytelling at many national industry events, including AIANY, NeoCon, KBIS, the Future NOW Symposium, the Young Architect Conference and NYCxDesign. As well as hundreds of editorial publications on Architizer, Paul has also had features published in Architectural Digest, PIN—UP Magazine, Archinect, Aesthetica Magazine and PUBLIC Journal.
