Born to a Dutch mother and Canadian father, Paolo Woods grew up in Italy and currently lives in Paris. He conducts long-term projects in which photography is an instrument for investigating today’s world. After an in-depth enquiry into the world of oil, and a long piece of reportage on the American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, he spent two years documenting China’s conquest of Africa. Each enterprise yields exhibitions, a book and a series of publications in the international press. These projects are co-produced by writer Serge Michel, whom Woods met in Tehran in 1999. Woods’ work has been shown in France, Italy, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, the United States and China, among other countries.