Square Print Sale: Eden, In Partnership With The Photo Society

Since Magnum’s founding, the cooperative has functioned as a sanctuary for photographers the world over — aiming to cultivate conditions more ideal for their work to flourish in an ever-changing ecosystem. For the Fall 2024 Square Print Sale, titled Eden, Magnum Photos partners with The Photo Society in exploring the titular theme. The sale celebrates the miraculous beauty, complexity, and sometimes absurdity of life on our planet through a collaboration that emphasizes the urgent need to protect it from an existential threat: humankind.

Running from October 21 to October 27, there will be 123 images available to purchase as limited-edition 6 x 6” prints during the online sale. They call attention to the splendor of nature, as well as the devastating, but potentially restorative, consequences of our actions. The stakes couldn’t be higher and these images seek to provoke both pause and resistance on behalf of Earth, as well as its future generations and their collective ability to flourish. In Eden, there is abundance — but only for a limited time.

Shop the Square Print Sale: Eden

The Photo Society was founded in 2011 as an organized community of select documentary photographers who have contributed to National Geographic. The partnership gathers for the first time the work of two distinct groups of world-class photographers, each offering  a cornucopia of contributions from around the globe. From rainforests to concrete jungles and everywhere in between, the collection captures not only a diverse range of places, but also a vibrant spectrum of thematic interpretations.

Everyone has a vision of an ideal world. Whether a bygone era, a future utopia, or something glimpsed here-and-now. Some images feel dark and dystopian, others humorous, ironic, and even counterintuitive, and yet, others still offer a deeply rooted, hopeful vision for the survival and resilience of an ailing people and planet. All these photographs and all they evoke, for all their differences, are grounded in the world we inhabit.

In the Eden Square Print Sale collection, against a seemingly desolate landscape, Susan Meiselas shows a children’s ride constructed of man-made swans within a gated section of an amusement park built in Kurdistan for domestic tourism. Alec Soth offers a blank painter’s canvas surrounded by vegetation above White Bear Lake in Minnesota. Elliott Erwitt’s contribution compares sacred and commercial iconography with his trademark clarity and humor in Argentina. Myriam Boulos brings forth a stunning closeup of a woman with a rooster, showing the intimate relationship between humans and animals.

“Eden, some say, was a garden where the first humans lived in harmony with an environment designed to help them thrive. If that story is true, we’ve done a poor job keeping the garden tidy, rich, and clean. Whether you believe the story or not, it certainly didn’t predict that our flourishing as a species would come at the cost of exhausting the world’s resources,” writes Cristina de Middel, Magnum president.

“Landscape photography is one of the most beloved genres: misty layered hills at sunrise in Tuscany, sunsets over the Grand Canyon… We love capturing the beauty around us and celebrating the magnificence of our planet. But what we must realize is that these landscape and wildlife photographs may soon be all that’s left — our only memory of the world as it once was. The only proof that Eden did exist.

“For this Square Print Sale edition, we’ve partnered with The Photo Society, an organization at the forefront of documenting this beauty. My hope is that the collection we’ve curated will serve as a reminder, subtle or stark, of what’s truly at stake.”

Images from members of The Photo Society include their founder Randy Olson’s shot of Mohanis fishermen in Pakistan’s Indus River who still use a 5,000-year-old method for hunting birds. Maria Daniel Balcazar’s photo is inspired by the Afro-Caribbean poet Julia de Burgos, whose poems act as a force of nature, reflecting an identity rooted in the Earth.

“The founders of Magnum envisioned a world where photographers could capture what they see without being constrained by the agendas of magazines and newspapers. In that same spirit, The Photo Society was formed 13 years ago when National Geographic photographers fought to keep their copyrights. Recognizing that there would be more challenges ahead, we took action,” said Olson. “Historically, photographers held influential roles, serving as editors, Directors of Photography, managing the archive, and making crucial decisions on grants for luminaries like Jane Goodall. Today, in a world where visual information is outpacing text, it is concerning that photographers have an ever-weakening seat at the decision- making table. This underscores the vital mission of The Photo Society. We are dedicated to promoting, preserving, and empowering photojournalism across the globe. We are also thrilled to partner with the esteemed Magnum organization, showcasing solidarity within the photographic community and celebrating the tireless efforts of photographers who document the incredible world around us”.

See an image you like, or want to browse the full collection?

The sale, featuring 123 signed or estate-stamped Square Prints from the Magnum archive and The Photo Society archive, runs on the Magnum Online Store from Monday, October 21 through Sunday, October 27, 2024.

Shop the Square Print Sale: Eden