magnum featured photographer

"I'm more interested in a photography that is 'unfinished' - a photography that is suggestive and can trigger a conversation or dialogue. There are pictures that are closed, finished, to which there is no way in."

Paolo Pellegrin, born in Rome, initially studied architecture beginning in 1982 before discovering his passion lay in photography. He attended the Instituto Italiano di Fotografia in Rome from 1985 to 1987, and began to work as an assistant to several photographers while starting his first personal projects. Pellegrin is known for his ability to traverse distinct subjects and themes within photography, yet maintain an artistic eye for images that are both spare and dramatic. Paolo Pellegrin became a Magnum nominee in 2001 and has been a full member since 2005.

An 82 year old man goes walking through the neighorhood where his house was before being destroyed by an F-16 during operation Cast Lead. Al Salam area. Jabalya city. Gaza 2009 © Paolo Pellegrin/Magnum Photos

The Gaza War, was a three-week military conflict between Israel and Hamas that took place in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel from the 27th of December 2008 until the 18th of January 2009. On 27 December Israel began a wave of air strikes on the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces launched an all out attack on military targets, police stations as well as civilian buildings and people. An Israeli ground invasion began on January 3, 2009. 1,417 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed, Over 5,000 Palestinians, for the great part civilians, were wounded. More than 400,000 Gazans were left without running water, while 4,000 homes were destroyed and roughly 20,000 damaged, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless. The war has plunged the Palestinians further into poverty. Thousands of homes that were destroyed have not been rebuilt. Israel bars the export of cement to Gaza under a tight blockade, fearing Hamas will use it to rebuild bunkers and other military infrastructure. The United Nations commission accused Israel of war crimes, prompting outrage in Jerusalem. Israel says the war was a legitimate act of self defense, launched in response to years of Palestinian rocket attacks. Today Israel still imposes a very tight blockade on Gaza. Paolo Pellegrin was there for the NGO 'Save the Children' in order to document the situation one year after the conflict.