ABOUT

In the 1960s, Petersen studied with fellow Swede Christer Strömholm, famed for his highly personalized approach to photography. Like Strömholm, Petersen has not shied from engaging a wide spectrum of human experience in all its rawness, photographing in prisons, mental institutions, and a home for the elderly. The searing intimacy of his images is a testament to the amount of time—often years—he spends on each series. Petersen aptly describes his working process as “finding a fever: a kind of vibration between the people.” That fever, or psychological resonance, is one of the most compelling aspects of Petersen’s work.

In Rågång till Kärleken, which translates to On the Line of Love, Petersen spent three years photographing people in retirement homes. “To be close to death is a way to feel alive,” he said. Surrounded by mortality, he saw innocence and vulnerability in the elderly and reflected on life’s urgency: “If you have visions, if you have a goal, then you’d better hurry up. It’s up to you.”