Sergio Larrain: London

In the winter of 1958, Sergio Larrain traveled to London. He spent just a few months there, photographing subjects that interested him and embracing the shadows of the city. In the cold and damp, his images captured a tangible darkness in which he could "materialize that world of phantoms." A few years later, he joined Magnum Photos and set off around the world, before retiring to the Chilean countryside and leaving photography behind.

The book also features a text by the late Chilean writer Roberto Bola�o--written in 1999 specifically to accompany these images--as well as a new essay by Agn�s Sire, artistic director of Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, detailing Larrain's stay in London.
Sergio Larrain (1931-2012, born in Santiago, Chile) began taking photographs in the streets of Santiago and Valparaiso after studying at the University of California, Berkeley; the early purchase of two images by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, reassured him in his chosen profession. After presenting a project on los abandonados (street children in Santiago) to Henri Cartier-Bresson, he was invited to join Magnum Photos in 1960; around this time, he also began what would become a legendary project on Valparaiso with a text by poet Pablo Neruda. Unsure if he was suited to working for the press, Larrain retreated to the Chilean countryside, dedicating himself to yoga, meditation, and drawing until his death in 2012.
Roberto Bola�o, was a Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist, and one of the leading South American literary figures of the twentieth century.
Agn�s Sire has served as director of Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris since its creation in 2003, where she oversees exhibitions and publications. Previously, she worked at Galerie Alexandre Iolas, and was art director at Magnum Photos in Paris.