Louie Palu

biographY

Canadian photographer and filmmaker, born in 1968, based in Washington DC (USA)

After graduating from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, Louie Palu went to New York City in 1991 on a summer scholarship and then interned with documentary photographer Mary Ellen Mark. He then began his career as a freelance photographer, initiating an ongoing collaboration with The Globe and Mail, Canada’s leading national newspaper, where he was staff photographer from 2001 to 2007.

Marked by the history of his parents, Italian immigrants who witnessed the violence and trauma of the Second World War, he developed a documentary photography attentive to contemporary socio-political issues, considering that his “role as a photographer is to monitor power and document issues related to human rights, poverty and conflict. I try to use the simplest photographic approaches and equipment free of gimmicky effects. I believe in ethical, direct, raw and unabashed images.”

It is in this perspective that he travels to the field to testify about the living and working conditions in the mining regions of Ontario and Quebec (Cage call), as well as the war in Afghanistan (Fighting season, Garmsir Marines, Void of War and Kandahar Journals, 76 min, 2015), the conditions of detention in Guantanamo (Guantanamo), the drug war on the US-Mexico border (Mira Mexico), the geopolitical evolution of the Arctic and its militarization (Distant Early Warning) or the war in Ukraine (Zero Position, 86min, 2022). Based in Washington DC, he documents in parallel and in the long term the American politics – in particular the consequences of Trump’s presidency and the attack on the US Capitol on January 6th 2021 (Political Year Zero).

Regularly exhibited around the world and published in international media (The New York Times, The Washington Post, The National Geographic Magazine, TIME, Newsweek, The Guardian, BBC, Al Jazeera, Der Spiegel, Le Figaro, Paris Match, La Repubblica, El Pais), he is the author of seven monographs and two feature-length documentaries. His work has been awarded prestigious prizes (including World Press Photo, several Pictures of the Year International and NPPA Best of Photojournalism) and research grants related to photography (Pulitzer Center, Guggenheim Foundation, University of Texas, etc).

SEries

Frozen Frontline, 2023

Série | Continuing his work on the armed forces in Arctic regions, Louie Palu documented the annual Kontio 22 military exercise taking place in Finland, a territory marked by growing geopolitical instability.

Louie Palu séries

Political Year Zero, 2019-ongoing

Series | This project is an insightful and long-term approach to chronicling the course of events leading to the American insurrection of January 6, 2021.

Louie Palu séries

Distant Early Warning, 2015-ongoing

Series | The project Distant Early Warning shows the gradual militarization of the Arctic, documenting legacies of the Cold War and increased military presence. Changes in the region have been exacerbated by other issues, in particular by global warming.

Louie Palu séries

Afghanistan, 2006-2010

Series | Between 2006 and 2010, Louie Palu made several visits to Afghanistan, the country where the US-led coalition was deployed in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

Louie Palu séries