From 9 August to the 31 December 2001 the Norwegian Folkemuseum in Oslo is hosting an exhibition of photographs, "Figures de Paix," taken by the French photographer Micheline Pelletier. The exhibition commemorates the Nobel Prize recipients' struggle for peace over the past 100 years.
Pelletier, one of France's most prominent photo journalists, spent more than two years putting together this exhibition and travelled over 140,000 km to capture the 23 living Peace Prize Laureates on film. Henry Kissinger, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi and Kim Dae Jung are among the many famous names caught by her camera. Her pictures capture the Laureates in a unique and personal way, showing each individual in a setting that reflects a particular connection to the Peace Prize.
The driving force behind Pelletier's desire to create this collection of pictures was a heartfelt need to perpetuate both moments and people. "There is something in the soul of these people that unites. If I could express what I meant by using words, I would not need to take their picture," says Pelletier when speaking of the Laureates. "The Peace Prize Laureates represent the most respected and noble characteristics of mankind and they all share a common feature. They carry a hope of peace on their shoulders," says Pelletier of her experience taking the photographs.
This exhibition complements a separate exhibit, which will include sections on Norwegian Nobel history, Norwegian-born Laureates, and a travelling multimedia exhibit, supported by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, illustrating work by Laureates from all six disciplines.
"Figures de Paix" has been funded by Cisco Systems Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco is supporting a number of activities during Nobel Week in December 2001 and, as part of the Nobel Cisco Internet Initiative, has donated equipment and resources to the Nobel organizations in Norway and Sweden to help them extend their use of the Internet as a medium for communicating the ideals of Alfred Nobel and the achievements of the Nobel Laureates. List of laureates photographed:
Norman Borlaug, 1970Henry Kissinger, 1973
Mairead Corrigan & Betty Williams, 1976
Adolfo Pirez Esquivel, 1980
Lech Walesa, 1983
Desmond Tutu, 1984
Elie Wiesel, 1986
Oscar Arias Sanchez, 1987
Dalai Lama, 1989
Mikhail Gorbachev, 1990
Aung San Suu Kyi, 1991
Rigoberta Menchu, 1992
Nelson Mandela, 1993
Frederik de Klerk, 1993
Yasser Arafat, 1994
Shimon Perez, 1994
Joseph Rotblat, 1995
Carlos Belo & Josi Ramos-Horta, 1996
Jody Williams, 1997
John Hume & David Trimble, 1998
Kim Dae Jung, 2000
