Museum Hanmi, in collaboration with Magnum Photos, presents Magnum Between Pages 1943–2025, an expansive exhibition tracing the evolution of the photobook as a powerful creative and political medium. Featuring approximately 150 photobooks from Magnum’s esteemed libraries in New York, London, and Paris, the exhibition marks the first time these volumes have been brought together in a single venue. Rather than simply showcasing the works of individual photographers, the exhibition foregrounds the photobook as a site of experimentation: one that has continually broadened the boundaries of documentary practice and public storytelling.
The exhibition opens with a look at Magnum’s founding in 1947 by legendary photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, George Rodger, and David Seymour. This segment introduces visitors to the cooperative’s ethos and the legacy of its members, whose commitment to visual integrity and independent authorship remains foundational to Magnum’s identity today.
A key focus of the exhibition is Magnum’s documentation of world events through photobooks that transcend journalistic reportage. Indeed, photographers such as Werner Bischof, Abbas, and Susan Meiselas have captured pivotal moments from the Korean War and Iranian Revolution, to 9/11 and the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibition explores how these images were initially published in global media and later recontextualized in photobooks that invite deeper reflection and long-term engagement.
Another segment, curated by Magnum photographer Martin Parr, examines the rise of the photobook in the 21st century. Spotlighting a younger generation of Magnum photographers, this incorporates selections from Parr’s own collection and his Sofa Sessions video interviews, which delve into the unique creative processes that underpin key publications.
Vintage photobooks are also featured alongside original photographic prints from Museum Hanmi’s own collection. These pairings emphasize the physicality of the photobook and recall the analog era’s editing practices, where layout, rhythm, and material structure shaped the reading experience as much as the images themselves.
A rare glimpse into an unrealized project is offered through Eye to Eye, a collaborative portrait book initiated by Magnum’s New York bureau in the 1980s but never published. Visitors can examine a dummy book and internal correspondence that reveal the collaborative challenges and ambitions behind Magnum’s editorial projects.
Finally, a segment curated by Korean photographer Kyungwoo Chun takes a deeply human approach. Titled Life-Time, it views each photobook as a metaphor for a life lived. From Chien-Chi Chang’s The Chain, documenting psychiatric patients in Taiwan, to Alec Soth’s Dog Days Bogotá, which reflects on the adoption of his daughter, the selection reveals the emotional and ethical range of the photobook form.
To deepen engagement, a specially designed reading room invites visitors to browse select photobooks and experience their tactile and structural qualities. A printed tabloid publication accompanies the show, offering extended commentary and context in an accessible, newspaper-style format.
