James Nachtwey

Image credit: Kabul, Afghanistan 1996 © James Nachtwey Archive, Hood Museum of Art Dartmouth

What does it mean to witness the worst things humans do to one another and still believe in compassion? Memoria, on view at Fotografiska Berlin from 31 January to 3 May 2026, showcases the powerful photographic work of James Nachtwey, one of the most influential photojournalists of our time. He spent four decades documenting conflict, injustice, and the fragile traces of humanity within these crises. The exhibition centers on the human consequences of war and critical social issues, highlighting the individual within large-scale historical upheavals. It also reflects on the essential role of photography itself: as a medium of memory, an act of preservation, and a tool that resists forgetting. While his photographs inevitably contribute to preserving history, their foremost purpose lies in illuminating urgent realities in the present – creating awareness where there is neglect and prompting viewers to confront the conditions that demand change. It is this immediate impact, this activation of public consciousness, that motivates his work; only later do the images endure as records of what must not be forgotten. In this way, photography interrupts cycles of violence and erasure, safeguarding histories that might otherwise be lost.

With Memoria, the audience is invited to slow down and see the world as Nachtwey sees it: not as a sequence of catastrophes, but as a fragile continuum of human experience. The work is not about combat; it is about the longing for peace in places where peace has collapsed. As his images reveal the impact of injustice and violence, they are also evoking compassion, empathy, and a sense of shared responsibility. They urge us to look closely and to remember.