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World-first as Volvo’s new XC60 becomes camera in the hands of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer

Volvo Cars has teamed up with three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and artist Barbara Davidson for a world-first – using the onboard safety cameras of the new Volvo XC60 to create a special collection of photographs.

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Black and white photograph of a Copenhagen street corner showing pedestrians and buildings, captured through the Volvo XC60's onboard safety cameras

This is the first time ever that a car is used as a camera by a photographer. Davidson’s collection of around 30 photographs, taken through the lenses of the XC60’s onboard safety cameras, captures life on the streets of the Danish capital Copenhagen from a completely fresh perspective.

Davidson’s photographs were first exhibited at Canvas Studios gallery in London’s Shoreditch this week and the exhibition will travel to other countries during 2017.

"The collection does two things. Firstly it is a snapshot of European city life in all its glory; secondly, it also highlights the complex environments that we live in. It is thanks to the cameras and other onboard sensors that cars like the Volvo XC60 make modern city life safer for pedestrians and other road users," said Davidson. "With this project, we connect art and safety for people to see the benefits of this technology."

Davidson, a multiple Pulitzer Prize-winner, holder of an Emmy Award and a former staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times newspaper, chose to work with Volvo Cars based on her own history with the brand.

"I have a very personal connection with Volvo Cars. When I was a teenager I was involved in a serious road accident where the car flipped over which, in normal circumstances, would probably have proven fatal. I was told later that I had survived because of the car I had been travelling in – a Volvo," said Barbara Davidson.

Over 1.2 million people die each year in road accidents around the globe. Volvo’s approach to road safety is focused on real-life traffic situations which the company has studied in detail since 1970 through its Traffic Accident Research Team. With this matchless set of real-world data, Volvo’s safety engineers have set about systematically working to mitigate or eliminate potential life-threatening accidents.

In 2008 the Swedish brand launched the first standard autonomous emergency braking system, City Safety, in the first XC60. It has been shown to have reduced collisions by up to 45% in Sweden alone. To discover more visit volvocars.com.

Make sure you also watch the video below to find out more about this project. Or you can follow Barbara Davidson on Twitter.

Selective colour photograph of a Copenhagen street scene with pedestrians and cyclists, rendered in monochrome with purple and blue accents highlighting figures and movement
Black and white photograph of an underpass with numbered pink bounding boxes overlaid on pedestrians and figures, captured through Volvo XC60 safety cameras by Barbara Davidson
Three cyclists ride through a Copenhagen underpass captured through the Volvo XC60's safety cameras, with detection boxes highlighting each rider
Wet city street at night in black and white, captured through the Volvo XC60's safety cameras, showing illuminated storefronts and street lights reflecting on the pavement
Wet cobblestone street at night lined with brick buildings and street lights, with a illuminated city skyline in the distance and figures in red clothing on the right side
A monochrome street scene in Copenhagen showing classical European buildings lining a quiet urban street with a solitary figure standing on the right side
A monochrome street scene in Copenhagen with a white Volvo XC60 and pedestrians highlighted by coloured safety camera detection boxes overlaid on the image.
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