What will you get if you hand a Volvo XC60 to a photographer?
It sounds like a beginning of a joke, but believe us, it's far from that. To answer the question, what you'll get is a different take on photography: a photo exhibition in which the photographs are taken by the car’s safety camera.
Yes, you read that right. For the first time ever, a car has been used like a camera!
Volvo's latest project involved Barbara Davidson, a three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist. Called XC60 Moments, the exhibition showcased 30 photographs which captured Copenhagen through the eyes of the XC60's cameras. In line with that, Volvo released an online video on YouTube last week.
[embed>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKQZw0IjDl0[/embed>
In the video, Davidson explained how doing the project was similar to how she does her work. "I'm really using the car as a camera. And I'm framing it as I would frame with my 35mm camera. So, it's very similar to how I would work as a photojournalist, oddly."
Davidson also recounted how Volvo saved her life when she was young. "When I was a young girl, I was in a severe car accident. And I was told at that time the reason why I survived it, after the car flipped, was because it was a Volvo," she said. According to a statement from Volvo, Davidson's personal connection with the brand was the reason why she chose to work with them.
Volvo claims that its City Safety system had reduced collisions by up to 45 percent in Sweden. In Davidson's words, they had connected art with safety to show to the people the benefits of this technology. "At the end of the day, it's about good storytelling, it's about connecting to the people who are looking at the work. But through art we're connecting them through really important technology that saves lives and I think we're bringing the technical world and the artistic world together."
At the end of the video, a statement by Hakan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars, was shown. "Our vision is that by 2020, nobody should be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo car."
The exhibit was first opened at the Canvas Studios gallery in London, and will be brought to other countries this year.
