Urban Andersson

"We flip through the magazine that has been distributed. Everything is about the leader Kim Jong Il, who died on December 17th. There are pictures of hysterically crying people and cheerful exhortations not to be paralyzed by grief. Mount Paektu is claimed to have shaken and rumbled on the day of death. Birds are said to have been seen mourning at the monuments – and snow falling from a completely starry sky. Stories about North Korea's leader have spread across the world for years, becoming modern myths. Kim Jong Il is said to have composed the world's most beautiful operas, been both a fashion icon and an incredible golfer, and a dangerous combat pilot. Now his son Kim Jong Un has taken over the governance – and the power over the country's nuclear weapons."

Urban Andersson's words about his photo series "North Korea," which includes the auction's work, "North Korea," 2012. Urban Andersson, born in 1955, is a Swedish photographer. Andersson has worked as a photographer for Svenska Dagbladet, Dagens Nyheter, and Aftonbladet and has documented conflicts, events, and individuals in no fewer than 129 different countries around the world. Among Urban Andersson's awards are several prizes from Picture of the Year, an honorable mention in the annual competition of the American National Press Photographers Association, and the Schibsted Journalism Awards 2011.