Sølve Sundsbø
Sølve Sundsbø is a Norwegian photographer and filmmaker based in London, creating fashion images, films and books through experiments with light, movement and technology.
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Latest
Sølve’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus their backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
- PirelliElements: Pirelli Calendar 20262026 edition · Photographer
- Sigma FoundationHanataba2026 Japanese general release · Photographer and co-editor
- The Metropolitan Museum of ArtAlexander McQueen: Savage Beauty2011 · Catalogue photography
- The New York Times14 Actors Acting2010 · Director
- A Rush of Blood to the Head2002 · Cover artwork
Coldplay
Overview
- From
- Norway
- Based in
- London
- Work
- Photography and filmmaking
- Early career
- Assisted Nick Knight before establishing an independent practice
- Early recognition
- Best newcomer, Hyères International Festival of Fashion, 1999
Mini bio
How it started.
Ski magazines and music helped Sølve find photography. Growing up in Norway, the empty white space of snow and the visual freedom of music videos caught their attention. In a 2021 interview, Sølve recalled taking a camera to concerts and being drawn to the work of Craig McDean and Nick Knight.
Finding a way in.
Sølve moved to London in 1994, briefly studied photography and then became an assistant. Working with Nick Knight encouraged a willingness to experiment. Independent work began in 1998, followed by the best newcomer prize at Hyères in 1999.
Images you may already know.
A 3D-scanned portrait originally made for Dazed & Confused became the cover of Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head. For the 2011 Savage Beauty catalogue, Sølve photographed McQueen clothing on live models, using body paint and retouching to make them resemble mannequins. The New York Times film project 14 Actors Acting earned an Emmy in 2011.
Always exploring.
Sølve works across fashion editorials, brand campaigns, films and exhibitions, mixing techniques such as 3D scanning and hand-painted retouching. The 2018 solo exhibition Beyond the Still Image took place at Milan’s Palazzo Reale. More recent projects include the Pirelli calendars and Hanataba, a book of imagined flowers made from a dialogue between photography and AI.
Creditschronological, newest first
Photography and books
- 2027Pirelli Calendar: IndiaPhotographer, alongside Raghu Rai and Avani Rai
- 2026Pirelli Calendar: ElementsPhotographer
- 2026Hanataba, Japanese general releasePhotographer and co-editor with Greger Ulf Nilson
- 2025Vogue Singapore: Nourish, Tilda SwintonCover photographer
- 2025Vanity Fair: Millie Bobby BrownPhotographer
- 2011Alexander McQueen: Savage BeautyCatalogue photographer
- 2002Coldplay: A Rush of Blood to the HeadCover artwork
Film
- 201014 Actors ActingDirector
Awards
- Fotografiprisen 2025Awarded by Norske Fagfotografers Fond, with an exhibition and artist conversation at Oslo Negativ.
- News & Documentary Emmy, 201114 Actors Acting won in New Approaches to News & Documentary Programming: Arts, Lifestyle & Culture; Sølve was credited as director.
- Hyères best newcomer, 1999Early recognition at the International Festival of Fashion in Hyères, France.
Quotes
Relax, be kind, sleep more.Sølve Sundsbø, Magniberg questionnaire
Closing advice in the questionnaire accompanying the April 2021 collaboration: https://magniberg.com/blogs/portraits/solve-sundsbo
Trivia
- In Magniberg’s questionnaire, Sølve named Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges as a favourite book.
- History was such a strong interest that Sølve once considered it as a career, according to the same questionnaire.
- The Coldplay cover image began as an experiment for Dazed & Confused, rather than as an album commission.
- For Savage Beauty, the apparent mannequins in the photographs were living models transformed with paint and retouching.
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