Collection of Auschwitz photos to open in Bicknell Center gallery on June 1 

An exhibit of 14 photos taken at Auschwitz will open June 1 and run through June 30 at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts at Pittsburg State University.

The collection of photos, entitled “Auschwitz KZI-II,” were taken by Orjan Henriksson, a professional photographer, lecturer, and teacher at Mullsjö Folkhögskola, University of Jönköping, and Missouri Southern State University.

The exhibit originally opened at Liljevalchs Konsthall in Stockholm and then toured to several museum and art galleries in Sweden before coming to MSSU’s Spiva Gallery as well as galleries across the U.S. It was awarded the Micael Bindefeld Foundation Prize, handed out by a member of the Swedish Royal Family, Prince Daniel. 

“My photographs want to portray the emptiness after all those humiliated, tortured and murdered in Auschwitz,” he said. “These are not ostentatious images that scream out loud. Instead, I let the walls and surfaces depict the total silence that only death leaves behind,” Henriksson said.

The exhibit is free and open to the public whenever the Bicknell Center is open — typically Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Fridays from 8 a.m. until noon, and for special events.