The power of simplicity: Magnum’s latest NFT collection – in pictures

Featuring prison abattoirs and Mexican rain rituals, the second in a series of three non-fungible token sales celebrates 75 years of the iconic photo agency

Main image: Million dollar baby … celebrating a 2nd birthday in East Detroit. Photograph: Jerome Sessini/Magnum Photos

  • Steve McCurry: Jodhpur, India, 2005

    Magnum 75 is the inaugural NFT collection by Magnum Photos. Created in 2022 for the agency’s 75th anniversary year, this is the second of three instalments. The 75 NFTs were curated with Azu Nwagbogu, founder and director of the African Artists’ Foundation and director of LagosPhoto festival. Nwagbogu says: ‘The vast Magnum archive reveals so much about the history of the modern world and its unresolved global issues with regard to ecology, humanity and technology.’ The collection will be revealed on Foundation
    Steve McCurry: Jodhpur, India, 2005

  • Mikhael Subotzky: Western Cape, South Africa, 2004

    Abattoir 2 in Voorberg Prison. Subotzky became interested in photographing incarceration, and crucially, in making visible what is often hidden from wider society
    Mikhael Subotzky: Western Cape, South Africa, 2004. Abattoir 2 in Voorberg Prison

  • Zied Ben Romdhane: Zinder, Nigeria, 2021

    In the region of Zinder, Zied Ben Romdhane spent 10 days capturing the lives, culture and habits of the people here as they grapple with climate change, malnutrition, malaria and socio-economic challenges
    Zied Ben Romdhane: Zinder, Nigeria, 2021. Azu Nwagbogu says: 'The vast Magnum archive reveals so much about the history of the modern world and its unresolved global issues with regard to ecology, humanity and technology. Rather than exploring Henri Cartier-Bresson’s ‘decisive moment’, this collection studies the ‘indecisive moment’ – the interstitial spaces, the energized subjects floating in-between events, where little obvious action occurs but where the subject(s) seem to be caught in anticipation. In the region of Zinder, Zied Ben Romdhane spent ten days capturing the lives, culture and habits of the people here as they grapple with climate change, malnutrition, malaria and socio-economic challenges

  • Richard Kalvar: New York, US, 1968

    Richard Kalvar has spent more than 50 years stalking streets, bars, parks and parties, searching for the ‘magical’ moment when composition, framing and subject align and an entire universe is created in a single frame
    Richard Kalvar: New York, US, 1968. 'Each image is charged with feeling, intent, foreboding and meaning, composed with a sense of expectation that offers multiple scenarios and possibilities about past events. It is not revisionist history, but rather invites the collector and viewers to perhaps look at the image again, more closely' - Azu Nwagbogu Richard Kalvar has spent more than 50 years stalking streets, bars, parks and parties, searching for the 'magical' moment when composition, framing and subject align and an entire universe is created in a single frame

  • W Eugene Smith: Silver Lake, US, 1958

    Smith said: ‘A photo is a small voice, at best, but sometimes one photograph can lure our senses into awareness. Much depends upon the viewer; in some, photographs can summon enough emotion to be a catalyst to thought’
    W. Eugene Smith: Silver Lake, US, 1958Juanita Floating in a tyre Inner tube.From the “Silver Lake” photo essay, which appeared in Sports Illustrated in 1958. Juanita was Smith’s daughter and a frequent subject of his earlier work.

  • Chien-Chi Chang: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 2003

    A couple presents proof of identity and marriage so that the bride can get a visa to Taiwan. Chien-Chi Chang says: ‘Still images can be moving and moving images can be still. Both meet within soundscape’
    Chien-Chi Chang: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 2003A couple presents proof of identity and marriage so that the bride can get a visa to Taiwan

  • Bob Henriques: New York, 1961

    Azu Nwagbogu selected images that resonated with him as an exercise of simplicity and enjoyment for the image and the moment. Here we see American actress Katharine Hepburn during the filming of A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, directed by Sidney Lumet
    Bob Henriques: US, 1961American actress Katharine HEPBURN during the fiLming of “A Long Day’s Journey into Night” by Sidney LUMET.

  • Jonas Bendiksen: Kurigram District, Bangladesh, 2010

    Moving the community mosque threatened by river erosion. In this flood-prone area, buildings are built so they are able to be dismantled and moved in a single day
    Jonas Bendiksen: Kurigram District, Bangladesh, 2010 Men moving the community mosque that was threatened by river erosion. In this flood prone area, buildings are built to be able to be dismantled and moved in a single day.

  • Lorenzo Meloni: Palmyra, Syria, 2016

    Inside the historic city of Palmyra, retaken from Islamic State. Here a Syrian soldier removes his helmet, sitting on the rubble of the former Temple of Bel, one of several sites in ancient Palmyra destroyed by IS militants
    Lorenzo Meloni: Palmyra, Syria, 2016Inside the historic town of Palmyra, retaken from IS by Syrian Arab Army. A Syrian Army soldier removes his helmet, sitting on the rubble of the former Temple of Bel, one of several sites in Ancient Palmyra destroyed by Islamic State militants

  • Jérôme Sessini: Detroit, US, 2017

    Celebrating a child’s birthday in East Detroit. ‘I don’t like rigid categories,’ says Sessini. ‘Sometime there is art in journalism and journalism in art. Conscience, heart, beauty, balance and loss of balance are essentials for me’
    Jérôme Sessini: Detroit, US, 2017A family celebrate a 2nd birthday in East Detroit

  • Nanna Heitmann: Moscow, Russia, 2020

    Heitmann says: ‘Life in my neighbourhood, surrounded by Soviet skyscrapers, has always been anonymous. Many neighbours left for the countryside to stay at their summer homes. I started to observe the ones who stayed. I noticed this dog; he changed his outfit, seemingly to fit to the situation. He takes a walk at least three times a day. Sometimes in the company of a woman, sometimes in the company of a man’
    Nanna Heitmann: Moscow, Russia, 2020‘The life in my neighborhood, surrounded in soviet skyscrapers has always been quiet anonymous. Many neighbors left to the countryside to stay at their summer homes. I started to observe the ones who stayed. I have noticed this dog some time ago. Now he changed his outfit- seemingly to fit to the current situation. He takes a walk at least three times a day. Sometimes in the company of a women, sometimes in the company of a man’.

  • Carl De Keyzer: Ghent, Belgium, 1986

    Dancing at a university student ball. Azu Nwagbogu says: ‘Photography keeps on adding layers of complexity in its creation, reading and visibility. This selection serves as a reminder of how simple the joy of looking at a beautiful image can be and how satisfying it is to make it’
    Carl De Keyzer: Ghent, Belgium, 1986Dancing “Hippopotamus” at University students ball

  • Raymond Depardon: Paris, France, 1988

    François Mitterrand on television during the French presidential campaign of 1988
    Raymond Depardon: France, 1988On the TV screen, French President François MITTERRAND during the Presidential campaign.

  • Olivia Arthur: Stommeln, Germany, 2013

    Arthur is known for her in-depth images examining people and their personal and cultural identities. She says: ‘For me, part of the power of still photography is the ambiguousness of pictures, the ability to give a hint about a scene or event without being too absolute’
    Olivia Arthur: Stommeln, Germany, 2013Carnival party in Stommelm, near Koln

  • Yael Martínez: Guerrero, Mexico, 2017

    In Guerrero, ancestral Mesoamericans see blood and rain as sacred and still perform pre-Hispanic ceremonies. This picture documents the rituals and sacrifices of these communities while – by combining photography with drawing – not violating their practices
    Yael Martínez: Guerrero, Mexico, 2017A member of the Nahua community is making an offering to the cross at the Cruzco Hill in the community of Zitlala Guerrero

  • Paolo Pellegrin: Baghdad, Iraq, 2003

    US marines camp at one of Saddam Hussein’s main palaces
    Paolo Pellegrin: Baghdad, Iraq, 2003US marines camp inside one of Saddam’s main palaces
Topics