Paolo Woods
Paolo Woods was born of Canadian and Dutch parentage. He grew up in Italy, lived in Paris and is now based in Haiti. He ran a laboratory and a photo gallery in Florence (IT), before devoting himself to documentary photography. He is interested in longterm projects that blend photography with investigative journalism. Together with the award-winning writer Serge Michel, he has published several books on topics including the oil industry, the western debacle in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the rise of the Chinese in Africa. The book Chinafricque – translated into eleven languages including English, Spanish and Chinese – has been acclaimed as the most thorough investigation into the phenomenon and as an exemplary combination of fine art and documentary photography. In 2010, Woods completed the project Walk on my Eyes, an intimate portrait of Iranian society. The accompanying exhibition premièred at the Festival of Arles (FR) and is currently touring worldwide. In 2012, his work was on view at Manifesta 9 in Genk (BE). In 2013, three years of work in Haiti culminated in the book STATE and the exhibition of that title at the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne (CH).
His work appears regularly in Time, Le Monde, Sunday Times and many other international publications. He has had solo exhibitions in countries including France, US, Italy, China, Spain, Germany and Holland, and numerous group shows around the world. His pictures are in the French National Library, the FNAC collection and the collection of Sheik Saud Al-Thani in Qatar. He has received various prizes, including two World Press Photo Awards, Alstom prize for Journalism, GRIN prize in Italy, the Open Society’s Moving Walls, and the Magnum Emergency Fund.
Publications
Paolo Woods, Arnaud Robert, STATE, Éditions Photosynthèses, Arles 2013.
Serge Michel, Paolo Woods, Marche sur mes yeux, Grasset, Paris 2010.
Serge Michel, Paolo Woods, La Chinafrique, Grasset, Paris 2008.
Serge Michel, Paolo Woods, American chaos, Le Seuil, Paris 2004.
Serge Enderlin, Serge Michel, Paolo Woods, Un monde de brut, Le Seuil, Paris 2003.
- Web: www.paolowoods.com