Olof Jarlbro

Bulgarian Ataka. Political Party, Sofia 2011

Olof Jarlbro (1978,Sweden) graduated from the Documentary and Photojournalism program at the International Center of Photography  in 2001. After his studies in New York he returned to Sweden and began working on longer photographic projects. In 2005 he attended the BA-program at FAMU  Art, Film and Photographic school in Prague. During his time in the Czech Republic he had a solo exhibit at the House of  Photography in Bratislava, Slovakia. In 2008, he published his first book The Falling Kingdom. His work has been published in Esquire, Style  and other magazine. After the ‘Falling Kingdom’ Olof published two more books:  ‘Stonefactory’ (2009) and ‘Nepal and Mao’ (2011). He is currently based in Bulgaria.

About the Photographs:

“The Bulgarian Ataka party was founded in 2005. They describe themselves as patriotic and nationalistic. I’m interested in people who are politically extreme regardless if it’s the left or right. In either case, I try to gain acceptance from the subjects before making  photographs. I never go in with a political belief or personal standpoint. Part of my success in gaining access in other cultures is my willingness to try and understand other people’s perspective. One would think that the party would just attract skinheads, but they draw support from a large variety of people in Bulgaria: workers, farmers, pensioners and a large portion of people from remote villages.”