Per-Anders Pettersson

Per-Anders Pettersson was born in Borås, Sweden, in 1967 and began his professional career in the late 1980s. After moving to New York in 1990, he worked internationally as a photojournalist, covering major news and feature stories across the world.

His assignments have taken him to more than one hundred countries and across much of the African continent. His work has included the Gulf War, the Balkans, Afghanistan and Haiti, as well as long-term reporting on Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana and South Africa.

South Africa became particularly important to Pettersson after he covered the country’s first democratic election in 1994. He later settled in Cape Town and developed a series of long-term projects exploring the social, political and cultural transformations taking place across the country and the wider African continent.

His first major book, Rainbow Transit, was published in 2013 and brought together two decades of work documenting South Africa’s transition into democracy. His second book, African Catwalk, published in 2016, turned his attention to the rapidly evolving fashion industry across Africa. Photographed across numerous countries, the project offered a vibrant and contemporary view of African style while deliberately challenging stereotypical Western representations of the continent.

Pettersson’s photographs have received international recognition, including awards and distinctions from World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International, NPPA, UNICEF Photo of the Year, PDN and American Photography. His work has been exhibited internationally, including presentations at Visa pour l’Image in Perpignan and Somerset House in London.

Across both commissioned work and personal projects, Per-Anders Pettersson combines the instincts of a photojournalist with a strong visual and narrative sensibility. His photographs move between conflict and celebration, social documentary and fashion, creating a complex and often unexpected portrait of contemporary life.