JH Engström

JH Engström (born 1969) is a Swedish photographer, filmmaker and artist based in Paris.

Biography Born in 1969 in Karlstad, Sweden, JH Engström has been developing for two decades a major work that questions the conditions of our existence in the form of installations consisting of photographs, films and books.

His work has a strong autobiographical dimension, based on the experience of an artist in movement – JH Engström has lived in Sweden, the United States and France – questions the role of private memory, the relationship to our origins, the link between the urban and natural environment, and the modes of representation and domination in our contemporary societies.

His work has been the subject of numerous monographic exhibitions at the Varmlands Museum (Sweden, 2017 and 2009), FOAM Amsterdam (Netherlands, 2014), the National Media Museum, Bradford (United Kingdom, 2010) or the Hasselblad Center, Gothenburg (Sweden, 2005). His works are housed in the collections of the Fotomuseum Winterthur (Winterthur, Switzerland), the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (United States), the Museum of Modern Art / Moderna Museet in Stockholm (Sweden) or the Musée Nicéphore Nièpce (Chalon-sur-Saône, France). He is the author of critically acclaimed books and winners of international awards, including the trilogy consisting of Trying to Dance (published by Journal in 2003), Tout va bien (Aperture, 2015) and Revoir (Akio Nagasawa Publishing / Journal, 2017). JH Engström currently lives between the Swedish region of Värmland and Paris. Trying to Dance. Stockholm: Journal, 2004. . Haunts. Göttingen: Steidl, 2006. . CDG / JHE. Göttingen: Steidl, 2008. . Sketch of Home Gun Gallery, 2008. . From Back Home. Stockholm: Bokförlaget Max Ström, 2009. With Anders Petersen. . La Résidence Journal,2010. Awarded the Goldene Letter by Deutche Buch Stiftung. . Foreign Affair With Margot Wallard. Tokyo: Super Labo, 2012. 7 days ATHENS November 2011 With Margot Wallard. Tokyo: Super Labo, 2012. Långt från Stockholm London: Mörel, 2013. . Ende und Anfang – Early Trips André Frère Éditions, 2013. . Sketch of Paris Aperture, 2013. . Karaoke Sunne With Margot Wallard. Tokyo: Super Labo, 2014. Edition of 1000 copies. Tout Va Bien Aperture, 2015. . Random. Mörel, 2015. October 2016: Fear of Leaving. London: Mörel, 2016. Revoir. Stockholm: Journal; Tokyo: Akio Nagasawa, 2016. . With a text by :fr:Christian Caujolle. Edition of 600 copies. Crash Tokyo: Akio Nagasawa Publishing, 2017. Day by Day. Paris: Bessard 2020. Edition of 600 copies. Photo Poche Actes Sud, 2021. . L'EcartPrinted with copy machine 28/11 at Le Bal The Frame: Pierre Von Kliest 2022.

Filmography

A Film about with Anders Petersen 2006. 52 minutes, directed and produced by JH Engström, edited by Kasja Grandell. Bertil & Maggan 2006. 28 minutes, written and directed by JH Engström, produced by Jenny Örnborn. Har/Ici/Here 2018. 4 minutes, 42 seconds, directed, produced, and edited by JH Engström. Ordet/Le Mot/The Word 2017. 6 hours, directed by JH Engström. Djuret/L'Animal/The Animal 2020. 4 minutes, 43 seconds. Directed by JH Engström. TIDIGT/TÔT/EARLY 2022. 4 minutes 56 seconds, directed by JH Engström.

Grants and awards Bildhuset grant for young photographers, 1996. Stockhölm Cultural award, 1998. Grant from The Andrea Frank Foundation, 1998 Winner of The photographic book of the year in Sweden for Härbärge/Shelter, 1998 Grant from the Swedish Authors Foundation, 1998 Grant from The Swedish Arts Council, 1999 Grant from the Swedish Authors Foundation, 2004 Grant from Hasselblad Center, 2004 Artist in residence at Contretype, Brussels, 2003 Grant from the Swedish Arts Council, 2004 Artist in residence at Musée de Niepce, Chalon-sur-Saône, 2004 Shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, 2005, for Trying to Dance Grant from The Swedish Authors Foundation, 2005 Grant from Swedish Arts Council, 2006–10 Grant from KW Gullers fund, 2008 Winner of the photo book award at Arles photo festival for the book From Back Home, together with Anders Petersen, 2009 Grant from the Swedish Arts Council, 2011–16 Goldene Letter for the book La Résidence, given by Deutsche Buch Stiftung, 2012 Winner of the Leica Oskar Barnack award for ‘Tout Va Bien’, 2015

Solo Exhibitions Entreacte Gallery F48, Stockholm, Sweden, 2000. Shelter, The Nordic Museum, Stockholm, 2002. Trying to Dance, Artotèque d'Angers, Angers, France, 2002. Trying to Dance, Contretype, Brussels, 2002. Trying to dance, Galerie VU‚ Paris, France, 2004. Haunts, Hasselblad Center, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2005. Je Suis Où, Contretype, Brussels, 2006. Milliken, Stockholm, Sweden, 2006. Haunts, Fotografins Hus, Stockholm, Sweden, 2006. Haunts, Galerie VU, Paris, France, 2006. Trying to Dance, Nantes Photofestival, Nantes, France. Trying to Dance/ Haunts, Huarte Art Center, Huarte, Spain, 2007. Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, The Photographers' Gallery, London, 2005. With Luc Delahaye, Jörg Sasse and Stephen Shore. Sketch of Home, GUN Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden, 2008. From Back Home, together with Anders Petersen, Artotheque Angers, France, 2009. From Back Home, together with Anders Petersen, Galerie VU, Paris, France, 2009. From Back Home, together with Anders Petersen, Värmlands Museum, Sweden, 2009. Trying to Dance / Haunts, Centre Atlantique de la Photographie, Brest, France, 2009. Trying to Dance/ Haunts Galerie Le Lieux, Lorient, France, 2009. From Back Home, National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, UK, 2010. With Anders Petersen. La residence, GUN Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden, 2011. From Back Home, together with Anders Petersen, Flinxo Gallery, Gent, Belgium, 2011. Tout Va Bien, Galleri Final, Malmö, Sweden, 2013. Close Surrounding, FOAM Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2014. Close Surrounding, Hôtel Fontfreyde – Centre photographique, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 2015. Crash, Värmlands Museum, Sweden, 2016. JHE, Riga Photomonth 2016, Latvian Museum of Photography, Riga, Lithuania, 2016. Härifrån, The Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, Finland, 2018. The Frame, Jean-Kenta Gauthier, Paris, 2018. The Frame, Appleton Lisbon, Portugal, 2019. Anknytningar/Correspondances/Correspondences, CAPC Villa Pérochon, Niort, France, 2020. Banquet, Jean-Kenta Gauthier, Paris, 2022.

Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, Photographers Gallery, London, UK, 2005. Der Traum vom Ich, der Traum von der Welt, Winterthur Fotomuseum, Switzerland, 2005. 'Deutsche Börse Group, Frankfurt, Germany, 2005. Gooroom project, South Korea, 2005. Langhans Galerie, Galerie VU, Prague, Czech Republic, 2005. Mois de la Photo, Paris, France, 2006. Caprice Horn Gallery, Berlin, Germany, 2006. Genre Humain, Brussels, Belgium Fotografins Hus, 2006. Face a Face Stockholm, Sweden Noorderlicht Photogallery, Groningen, Netherlands, 2006. D-Foto, San Sebastian, Spain, 2006. Cohan and Leslie Gallery, New York, USA, 2007. Darkside, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland, 2008. Arles Photofestival, show curated by Nan Goldin, Arles, France, 2009. Das Porträt. Fotographie als Bühne, Kunsthalle Wien, Das Porträt-Fotografie als Buhne, Austria, 2009. Darkside II, Darkside II, Winterthur Fotomuseum, Switzerland, 2009. La Residence, Contretype Photcenter, Brussels, Belgium, 2010. Liege Photobienale, Belgium, 2012. Out of Focus, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK 2012. Eyes Wild Open, commissioned by Marie Sordat, Botanique, Brussels, Belgium, 2018.

Institution Collections Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland. Hasselblad Center, Gothenburg, Sweden. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA. Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden. Musée Nicéphore-Niépce, Chalon-Sure-Saône, France. The Nordic Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Noorderlicht Photography Foundation, Grongingue, Netherlands. Saatchi Gallery, London, UK. Värmlands Museum, Karlstad, Sweden.