Photography Prize 2023

1st Prize was awarded to Patty Carroll from the US. By literally and physically camouflaging the figure in drapery and/or domestic objects, Carroll creates a dark and humorous game of hide-and-seek between her viewers and an Anonymous Woman. The woman becomes a victim of her obsessions, activities, and circumstances as well as the invisible creator of such; at once satisfying and problematic, pathetic and humorous.

2nd Prize was awarded to Marcel Rauschkolb from Germany. Photographs of rubble piles from a demolition site are paired with vintage imagery of climbers and alpinists to form the basis of a fictional adventure that reminds of the stories of adventurers and explorers the viewer might have read as a child.

3rd Prize was awarded to Diana Cheren Nygren from the US. Her work looks at climate change not from within human history, but the greater geologic history of the planet. This multi-layered work includes scenes of human habitation behind acrylic, affixed within sweeping landscapes shaped by climate change. The landscapes continue onto hand painted frames, alluding to Earth's next chapter. In spite of human activity, the Earth continues to transform and reinvent itself. What is at stake is not the future of the planet, but its suitability for human habitation.

The People's Choice Award was awarded to Ana Priscila Rodriguez from Mexico. With her images, she attempts to create a relatable shore for the emotional and psychological human experience. Every image is a window to a story, creating visuals attached to a feeling or an emotion where the viewer fills in the blanks with their own visions. The complexity of the texture and layers creates the illusion of an old oil painting in each of her works, giving a sense of dark melancholy, romance and drama, with a tone of classic Baroque.

The MPB Award was awarded to Boris Suyderhoud from the Netherlands. In his series, he embarks on nightly journeys through the streets of Amsterdam, capitalising on the nights when Amsterdam’s residents place their bulk waste next to the city’s underground bins for collection the following morning. In each neighbourhood he visits, Suyderhoud collects this discarded refuse and transforms it into captivating public installations. Through this process, he bestows a sense of homeliness to his scenes and rekindles the value of these objects before they are lost to the ever-expanding land-fill.

The One Shot Award was awarded to Vivian Almas from the UK. Her image 'Prelude to Tranquility' captivated the jury.