PRESS PREVIEW: POLY by photojournalist Olof Jarlbo

Welcome to the press preview of the exhibition Poly with Olof Jarlbro on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, at 13:15 (please note new time) at Dunkers Kulturhus in Helsingborg. The press preview will be attended by photojournalist Olof Jarlbro and exhibition producer Martin Schibli. The exhibition opens on August 29 at 18:00, followed by a conversation at 18:30 between Olof Jarlbro and the exhibition producer.

An estimated 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced every year. Poly, an abbreviation of Polyethylene (PE), is the most common form of plastic. Far from all of it is recycled with plastics transforming and poisoning nature. Figures vary, but at least 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans every year. The production of plastic is expected to increase, as is the pollution of oceans and nature.

Olof Jarlbro was born in 1978 in Helsingborg, where he grew up. He was educated in Prague and New York and now lives in Sofia, Bulgaria. Today, Jarlbro is an internationally established photojournalist with the world as his field of work. He has photographed drug wars and cockfighting in the Philippines and depicted the wars in Ukraine and Syria. His images have been published internationally in several newspapers, magazines, and books around the world.

Depicts the impact of plastic in Southeast Asia
The Poly photo series has grown from previous projects in countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and India. Jarlbro observed that the use of plastic was similar in these countries. Although a large part of the population in these countries has improved economically, society's increased resources still need to be invested in an infrastructure to recycle plastics or to benefit everyone. Instead, plastic ends up on the outskirts of cities and in areas where people struggle to survive daily. Not least, they become major consumers of single-use packaging themselves. At the same time, plastic represents a small opportunity for survival by collecting, sorting and reselling.

In the Poly series, Jarlbro uses his ability to gain access to individuals' personal stories about life on the margins and the consequences of the global economy. Based on the individuals' stories, which become small micro-histories, Jarlbro ultimately generates a larger perspective at the macro level on what the world looks like today, how we use the earth's resources and means of production, and how the global cycle is connected between continents and shifting social classes.

During the opening weekend, Olof Jarlbro will sign his book Poly, which has the same title as the exhibition, (entrance) on Saturday, 31st August, 14:00 - 15:00. For more events, visit the exhibition website.

About the exhibition Poly
The exhibition is produced by Dunkers kulturhus’s exhibition producers Alexandra Lige Berglund and Martin Schibli. It runs until 2nd February 2025.

Interviews
Photojournalist Olof Jarlbro is available for individual interviews from 20th to 31st August, contact press or exhibition producer Martin Schibli.

Exhibition producer
Martin Schibli, 0738042779, martin.schibli@helsingborg.se

Press contact
David Lundin, 072-3981261, david.lundin@helsingborg.se

Free press photos are available under the section Related Media.