Stefan Bladh is a photographer and filmmaker based in Stockholm, with more than twenty years of experience spanning both long-term artistic projects and documentary assignments rooted in social engagement. His practice moves within the space between the documentary and the existentially investigative, where the image functions not merely as testimony, but as an opening toward something elusive and evanescent.
With a distinctly intuitive approach, Bladh has, for over two decades, repeatedly turned his attention toward the human condition. His images often dwell in the quiet and transitional — in moments that resist clear explanation while carrying a strong sense of presence. Rather than following a predetermined plan, he allows the process to be shaped by encounters, situations, and states of being. Here, photography becomes not a tool for defining, but for approaching that which cannot yet be fully understood.
Alongside commissions for international publications, Bladh has developed several extensive book and exhibition projects of his own. His work has frequently taken shape in places marked by transition and instability — such as the Balkans, the Middle East, Ukraine, and Russia — where the personal and the political continuously intersect.
In the monograph The Family (2010), he followed a nomadic family in Turkey over the course of nearly a decade, a body of work that received international recognition. Later publications, including Hidden Kingdom (2017), further established his position as a photographer whose work moves beyond the purely documentary toward a more introspective visual language. The film Without Desire, No Image (2019), a portrait of Anders Petersen, premiered on Swedish Television’s K-Special. The monograph Litany (2026) draws on fragmentary memories of early journeys through the Balkans, Ukraine, and Turkey — places where history remains present as a quiet yet persistent resonance.
1. The Family Nouvel Publishing ISBN 978-91-978263-0-3. Released april 2010. Awarded with the Swedish design award ”Swedish Book Art” and chosen in Photo-Eyes list Book of the year 2011
2. Irkutsk, Russia 28.06.14 Nouvel Publishing ISBN 978-91-978263-1-0. Released december 2014
3. Hidden Kingdom Kerber Verlag ISBN 978-3-7356-0395-1. Nouvel Publishing ISBN 978-91-978263-2-7. Released november 2017
4. Tokyo, Japan 2018.02.28 Nouvel Publishing ISBN 978-91-978263-3-4. Released november 2018
5. Envoi ISBN 978-3-7356-0864-2 Kerber Verlag. ISBN 978-91-978263-4-1 Nouvel Publishing Released oktober 2022
6. Turkiet 100 år - Drama utan slut ISBN: 978-91-7445-054-52 Atlas förlag. Released April 2023.
FILMS
Utan längtan ingen bild (Without longing no picture) A portrait of photographer Anders Petersen. 56 min. Premiere June 2019. K-Special SVT 2
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Romskt kulturcentrum, Stockholm, Sweden 2006 Arbetets Museum, Norrköping, Sweden 2007 Galleri London, Uppsala, Sweden 2007 Marmara Otel, Istanbul, Turkey 2007 Marie Laveau, Stockholm, Sweden 2008 Galleri Neun Plus, Berlin, Germany 2008 Galleri Format, Malmö, Sweden 2010 Zita, Stockholm, Sweden 2010 Härnösands Konsthall, Sweden 2011 Luma Kulturhus, Stockholm, Sweden 2011 KG52, Stockholm, Sweden 2011 Istanbul Hatirasi / Fotograf Evi Istanbul 2012 Black Door Gallery, Örebro, Sweden 2012 Gallery RALF, Stockholm, Sweden 2014 Freelens Gallery, Hamburg, Germany 2018 Black Door Gallery, Örebro, Sweden 2020 Galleri Kontrast, Stockholm, Sweden 2022
GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2002 - 2019
Galleri Optimon, Istanbul, Turkey Deutsch-Türkisches Forum, Stuttgart, Germany Galleri Kontrast, Stockholm, Sweden Bildens Hus, Sundsvall, Sweden Bursa University, Bursa, Turkey Yildiz University, Istanbul, Turkey Silver agency, Stockholm, Sweden Planket, Stockholm, Sweden Galleri Kontrast, FRAMED, Sweden Lodz Photofestival CFF, Stockholm, Sweden 2019 Galleri Kontrast FRAMED, Sweden 2019
FILM SCREENINGS
Liljevalchs, Stockholm 2019 - Anders Petersen documentation of exhibition ”Stockholm” Arvika Konsthall, Arvika 2020 - “Utan Längtan Ingen Bild”
RESIDENCES
Atelier de Visu, Marseille, France 2009 L.A.F, Prauge, Czech Republic 2009
SHORTLISTS Nominated for the Swedish Photo Book Award 2018 (Hidden Kingdom) Shortlisted and finalist for Elliot Erwitt Fellowship 2016 Shortlisted and finalist Photolucida 2015 with the serie Hidden Kingdom Shortlisted for Oscar Barnack Award 2012 with the serie Hidden Kingdom Shortlisted Fotofestiwal Final 2012 Lodz with the serie Hidden Kingdom
PUBLISHED GUP 2015 / Hidden Kingdom (Then called Fiction) 1000 words blog 2014 / Hidden Kingdom (Then called Fiction) Leica Magazine 2012 / Hidden Kingdom (Then called Fiction) TIME Magazine Lightbox / The Family & Kaliningrad / Entropia
SCREENINGS Recountres D´Arle 2012 - Oscar Barnack Award / Hidden Kingdom (Then called Fiction) Lodz Photofestival 2012 / Hidden Kingdom (Then called Fiction)
GRANTS Helge Axson Johnson foundation 2005 and 2018 Längmanska foundation 2006, 2007 and 2011 Swedish Author foundation 2007, 2010 and 2018 Swedish Art Council 2008 Swedish Art Council 2009 Swedish Art Council for 2 year 2010 and 2011 Swedish Art Council for 2 year 2015 and 2016 Swedish Art Council 2020 Swedish Author foundation 2022