Emilia Bergmark-Jiménez
To be Born and to Give Birth
Welcome to the innermost room for a unique glimpse into Swedish births. In To be Born and to Give Birth, which opens at Fotografiska Stockholm on September 13, photographer Emilia Bergmark-Jiménez follows several families through the different stages of birth. An exhibition that is powerful, intimate, emotional, and moving all at once. “Just as with the entire subject of giving birth, these photographs need to be front and center for the public,” says Emilia Bergmark-Jiménez.
For more than three years, Emilia Bergmark-Jiménez has photographed a large number of births throughout Sweden, each with its own unique circumstances and process. The project is now being exhibited at Fotografiska Stockholm as the To be Born and to Give Birth exhibition, which opens on September 13. This exhibition depicts the different phases of childbirth, giving us unique glimpses into the most intimate space and greatest moment we experience.
"the absorbative power of photography"
“Since I was 12, I have believed in the absorbative power of photography. Its ability to bridge the emotions and experiences of people. From the beginning, I’ve been clear that this project must result in a photography exhibition that you can step into and allow yourself to be immersed into and absorbed by. Precisely like the entire subject of giving birth, these photographs need be front and center for the public,” says Emilia.
To be Born and to Give Birth is also a story about the existentialism inherent in giving birth and about becoming and being human.
It was only when Emilia was hired to photograph a birth that she came to realize the immense impact of her own experience of giving birth two years earlier. She felt that the answers to many of her questions could be found in the room where children are born. The places, the people, and the stories became the start of her personal project Swedish Births, which has now developed into To be Born and to Give Birth. During the project, Emilia trained to become a doula.
shine the spotlight on this intimate room
“In this age we live in, it feels natural to shine the spotlight on this intimate room, through Emilia’s lens and accompanied by her personal reflections, which poetically paint what the camera cannot capture. Every emotion can shine here,” says Sofia Liljergren, Exhibition Manager at Fotografiska Stockholm.
Emilia Bergmark-Jimenez is also publishing a book of the same name through Norstedts publishing house, which will be released on the opening date of the exhibition. To be Born and to Give Birth will be shown at Fotografiska from September 13, 2024 to January 19, 2025.
