6TH ANNUAL WESTPHOTO PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE 2012
STATE OF THE NATION
WELCOME
UNIVERSITIES
This year’s photography prize focuses on observations, ideas and perceptions of the current state of the world around us. The work displayed engages with political, economical, historical, geographical and social issues, with many submissions being drawn from personal experience.
University of Westminster London, England
WESTPHOTO invited current and alumni students from the University of Westminster, University of Wales (Newport), University of Ulster and Edinburgh Napier University to submit work on the theme of ‘State of the Nation’. On behalf of Westphoto I would like to say how much we appreciated the fantastic response from all those who submitted work for this year’s photography prize.With more than 300 photographers submitting close to 1300 images the judges had the difficult task of nominating winners and runners-up in two categories: single image and project work. The shortlisted photographers represent a broad range of photographic experience. Participants include BA, MA and PhD students, as well as alumni from all four institutions. The resulting exhibitions in London, Newport, Edinburgh and Belfast will be an excellent showcase of current photography in the UK. Looking at the nominated work, the emphasis on personal and social effects caused by the current economical climate all over the world is evident. The diversity in styles, ideas and execution is astonishing and the exhibition is as much a collection of comments as it is a showcase of outstanding photography. This year’s competition and exhibition was made possible thanks to the extraordinary hard work and enthusiasm of the entire WESTPHOTO team. My special thanks go to Debbie Naylor, Bindi Vora, George Lewis-Jones and William Lailey for their endless dedication to very tight deadlines. Many thanks to Paul Cabuts at University of Wales, Newport, Peter Neill at University of Ulster and Colin Cavers at Edinburgh Napier University for working with us this year and setting up the exhibition in their institutions. Thanks also to Andy Golding, Head of Photography and Film and Alan Fisher, Acting Dean of Media, Arts and Design at the University of Westminster, for their continued support and commitment to WESTPHOTO. We are grateful to Sharman & Co for printing this year’s catalogue and to Bob Books, Epson, Manfrotto and Moo for providing such fantastic prizes and donations. Finally, a warm thank-you to this year’s judges Clare Grafik, Diane Smyth and Simon Roberts for their valuable time and expertise in nominating the work on display.
Andre Pinkowski Director of WESTPHOTO Senior Lecturer in Photography University of Westminster December 2012
Photography education at the University of Westminster has a unique depth of tradition. The world’s first courses in photographic chemistry were delivered in the main building of what is now the Regent Street Campus. The first degree in photography was delivered at the then Polytechnic, pioneering the critical study of photography in addition to practical training. Another first was the BSc Photographic Science which remains the premier course teaching the technology of imaging science. Photography teaching is delivered on one of the finest and most fully equipped facilities in the country. www.westminsterphotography.co.uk www.westminster.ac.uk
Edinburgh Napier University Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh Napier University has offered an education in photography since 1963. The Honours programme encourages students to think creatively and to develop the skills needed to successfully convey their ideas visually. We offer an in depth grounding of the technical processes, research skills, production and collaborative practices necessary for a career in the arts and creative industries. Professional communication skills are central to success in every creative occupation and of equal importance is the rigorous contextual underpinning of work at all stages of its creation. The programme will move in 2013 to new purpose built facilities within the School of Arts and Creative Industries. Building upon Scotland’s unique photographic heritage, the programme continues its central role in facilitating and educating the photographic practitioners of the future. www.napier.ac.uk
University of Ulster Belfast, Ireland The School of Art and Design at the University of Ulster has a history reaching back over 150 years. It is a large, multi-disciplinary School, based at the Belfast Campus. It provides a broad base for teaching and research in the fields of fine and applied arts, design and visual communication programmes.The BA(Hons) Photography programme is a relatively new course, started by Professor Paul Seawright in 2007, there is also now an MFA running in parallel. Staff include Donovan Wylie, KayLynn Deveney, Ailbhe Greaney and Peter Neill. www.adbe.ulster.ac.uk/schools/art_design
University of Wales, Newport Newport, Wales 2012 marks 100 years since photography was first taught at Newport. The year sees the University reflect on an extraordinary discipline and its development into one of the most prestigious photography schools in Europe, a school which still develops the talents of some of the most prominent photographers in the UK and beyond. Photography has maintained a strong role at the heart of the University’s work – Documentary Photography, Photographic Art, Photography for Fashion and Advertising and, more recently, Contemporary Photographic Practice programmes continue to attract students from across the world. www.100yearsofphotography.newport.ac.uk
JUDGES Clare Grafik - Head of Exhibitions Photographers’ Gallery Clare Grafik is Head of Exhibitions at The Photographers’ Gallery in London. She has worked on solo exhibitions with artists and photographers including Keith Arnatt, Lise Sarfati, Antoine D’Agata, Katy Grannan, Zineb Sedira and Taryn Simon. Group shows include a vidéothèque with the Cinémathèque de Tanger and, most recently, The Photographic Object. She is currently working on an exhibition about Contemporary Photo Collage, due to take place at the newly reopened Photographers’ Gallery in 2013. She is a sessional lecturer at Birkbeck College London and has written for various publications including IANN, Contemporary, Art on Paper and Art Monthly. www.thephotographersgallery.org.uk Simon Roberts - Photographer Simon Roberts (b. 1974) studied a BA Hons Degree in Human Geography at the University of Sheffield (1996). His photographs have been exhibited widely with recent solo shows at the National Media Museum, UK, EX3 Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea, Italy, and Centro Brasileiro Britânico, Brazil. They are represented in major public and private collections, including the Deutsche Börse Art Collection and Wilson Centre for Photography. In recognition for his work, Roberts has received several awards including the Vic Odden Award (2007) – offered for a notable achievement in the art of photography by a British photographer – bursaries from the National Media Museum (2008) and the John Kobal Foundation (2008). Most recently he was commissioned as the official Election Artist by the House of Commons Works of Art Committee (2010) to produce a record of the UK General Election. He has published two monographs, Motherland (Chris Boot, 2007) and We English (Chris Boot, 2009) www.simoncroberts.com Diane Smyth - Deputy Editor British Journal of Photography Diane Smyth is the deputy editor of the British Journal of Photography, and has also written on photography for Aperture, PDN, Creative Review, Photomonitor, Philosophy of Photography, The Guardian and The Times. She has spoken on photography at The Photographers’ Gallery, The Frontline Club, University College Falmouth and the London College of Communication, and curated exhibitions for the Flash Forward Festival and Lianzhou Foto. www.bjp-online.com
WESTPHOTO A big thank you for their kind help and support goes to Ulrike Leyens, Allan Parker, Dave Freeman, Darrin Cobb, Niall Carter, Michael Maziere and Olaiwola Odusanwo. WESTPHOTO started as an initiative to enable students to respond to professional structures, commissions and expectations within the photographic field. Now an established entity of the photography department at the University of Westminster it provides professional services from students for students, photographic assignments for internal and external clients, hosts a photographic library and runs the annual photography prize.
First Prize Graphic Designer: George Lewis-Jones Competition Co-ordinator: Bindi Vora WESTPHOTO Manager: Debbie Naylor Cover image: Jonathan Graham
Yoshi Kametani Plastic Spoon Andre Nacu Vama Veche - A Family Holi
Second Prize Printed cold-set on 52gsm improved newsprint Cover 70gsm improved newsprint Printed by Sharman & Co. www.sharmanandco.co.uk
Paula Gortazar Common Space Tina Remiz For a Future that Works
Third Prize University of Westminster WESTPHOTO Picture Library & Agency Harrow Campus Watford Road Harrow HA1 3TP Tel: +44 (0)20 7911 5000 www.westphoto.co.uk
Johan Peter Jønsson The Working Class Boys Kun Song Vanishing - Yantai, China
Fourth Prize David Barnes King Tide Odeta Catana Silvia
Fifth Prize Guy Prowse Made in Britain Gareth Johnson Spectrum Housing Developments
Runners-up Aisling Kane Drawing Breath Basil Al-Rawi Façade Caroline Bruyninckx The New Life Clémentine Schneidermann Ghost City Danai Iconomou Untitled Dimitra Kountiou Protest Fabrizio Bilello Kettling Grzegorz Jaworski The Distance He Can Walk Jayne Taylor Resonances #1 Johathan Graham Unwanted Janitors Kit Oates Regina Laboris Kevin Traynor Street Light at Easterhouse Estate Lorna Evans Untitled Magdalena Turner Ringland Estate, Newport Maria Pappa Migrations Mayumi Hirata Tiger Spirit Never gets Washed Away Ruta Skemaite Untitled Sam Laughlin Untitled Tory Gaston The Unknown Father to England Zuzanna Kamusinski Freedom
SINGLE IMAGE
FIRST PRIZE
Vama Veche - A Family Holiday Andrei Nacu University of Wales, Newport MA 2
PROJECT
FIRST PRIZE
Plastic Spoon Yoshi Kametani Edinburgh Napier University Alumni The phrase “you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth” depicts the notion that you are born into a wealthy family, however the plastic spoon becomes the opposite. Plastic Spoon is a project that evolved from working over a period of four years (2006-2010), with the residents of Muirhouse, one of the most deprived council schemes in the UK. Muirhouse is located on the outskirts of a city that is known for its high rates of unemployment, drugs and violence, however controversially has the most millionaires per capita within the country. The title ‘Plastic Spoon, originally stemmed from a meal I had with a friend in Muirhouse, where his son was eating fried rice across the table from me, he was eating with a plastic spoon. It also reflected the other uses of this ‘plastic spoon’, where the most commonly used piece of cutlery to prepare heroin is a spoon, it reflected the drug culture embedded within the community. This project becomes a visual reference to portray these feelings of isolation, alienation as well as the eccentricity within Muirhouse.
SINGLE IMAGE
RUNNERS-UP
The New Life Caroline Bruyninckx University of Westminster Alumni
Kettling Fabrizio Bilello University of Westminster BA 2
PROJECT
SECOND PRIZE
Common Space Paula Gortazar University of Westminster Alumni The European Union was created in the aftermath of the Second World War with the purpose of promoting the economic cooperation between countries, believing that making all of them economically interdependent would avoid further conflict. Since then, the Union has developed into a huge singular market with the Euro as its common currency for most of its member states. What began as a purely economic union has evolved into an organisation spanning all areas from development aid to environmental policy. ‘Common Space’ depicts the interiors of the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg, an institution which, despite being little understood or liked by many citizens, is gaining a prominent role in legislating our everyday European living circumstances. In its corridors, offices and meeting rooms, these quasi-futuristic spaces reveal a dream created in the fifties, a future whose ideals have been recently put into question after the serious economic recession suffered across the continent.
SINGLE IMAGE
SECOND PRIZE
For a Future that Works Tina Remiz University of Westminster Alumni
PROJECT
RUNNER-UP
Chapters of Crisis Clémentine Scheidermann University of Wales, Newport MA 1 In May 2012 I went to Spain to photograph Valdeluz, also called the ‘ghost city’. Valdeluz is a brand new city built in the middle of Madrid’s countryside, aimed to settle almost 35,000 inhabitants. Yet, they are only 3500 to live in this city today. Since the crisis hit the country, nobody can afford to buy a house, even if the prices are low. There is something weird when you walk in the streets of Valdeluz, cameras are watching empty streets, parks for children are still packed, guards are controlling empty buildings and the sign ‘Se Vende’ is on almost every building. I called this project ‘Chapters of Crisis’ because Valdeluz is one chapter among lots of other; a work I would like to follow in Greece, Portugal and also Ireland. Valdeluz has become the symbol in the media of the Spanish crisis. For the first time, ironically, there is too much housing.
SINGLE IMAGE
RUNNERS-UP
Street Light at Easterhouse Estate Kevin Traynor University of Ulster Alumni
Tiger Spirit Never gets Washed Away Mayumi Hirata University of Westminster Alumni
PROJECT
THIRD PRIZE
The Working Class Boys Johan Peter Jønsson University of Wales, Newport BA 2 I regularly visited my local barbershop and come to know Simon the barber and his young assistant Michael. The customers have always intrigued me, the working class local men coming into to have a haircut before heading to town for a night out. These faces are the faces of the Newport’s youth and future. These young men are used to portraying a hard facade to gain respect, and in order to be a ‘real man’. However, what I feel I have captured is their real feeling of their situation, a depiction of understanding.
SINGLE IMAGE
RUNNERS-UP
Resonances #1 Jayne Taylor University of Westminster MA 2
Protest Dimitra Kountiou University of Wales, Newport BA 3
SINGLE IMAGE
THIRD PRIZE
Vanishing - Yantai, China Kun Song University of Westminster BA 4
PROJECT
RUNNER-UP
Unwanted Janitors Jonathan Graham University of Ulster BA 3 What are we really trying to do here? We continually try to bring order to things that don’t seem to require it. The great outdoors is only a small part of this pandemic, for even the idea of nature; the harmonic chaos of the unknown, threatens us. We seem to have found ourselves placed in this seemingly hostile reality, one that is beyond our control and therefore a threat. This apparent disconnection drives us to bridle parts of this nature but, everything we touch with this mindset becomes fixed, solid and ultimately less that it once was. We are unwanted janitors.
PROJECT
RUNNER-UP
Untitled Danai Iconomou University of Wales, Newport MA 1 Living in Greece lately feels like sinking into quicksand. As the full extent of the financial crisis has unfolded over the last three years, the government has been imposing one austerity measure after another, leading thousands of people into unemployment and violating basic social rights. People in their twenties and early thirties, well-educated and under-employed, find it hard to make ends meet and grow frustrated with a lack of prospects and a sense of being cheated out of a decent future. It is as if they are forced to accept everything, under the threat of bankruptcy, and keep still, just so they can stay afloat. This generation has lost faith in the political system. Many young Greeks choose to leave their homeland in search of work, while those who stay, react and turn to more radical and subversive political tendencies. In this politically uncertain environment, public protest has taken on an even more prominent role, often leading to riots and violent reactions and creating an increasingly tense atmosphere in the streets of Athens. Protests against government policies often degenerate into a running battle between rioters and the police. This project is a personal documentation of the youth culture, restlessness and rebellion in the social context of the financial crisis in Greece. It is an attempt to psychograph this generation on its struggle to find an identity and develop its own political voice, in order to find a way out of this deadend situation.
PROJECT
FOURTH PRIZE
King Tide David Barnes University of Wales, Newport PhD 1 ‘King Tide’ refers to the way the sea is affected when the Earth, Sun and Moon are aligned at ‘perigee’ and ‘perihelion’; a natural phenomenon that often occurs at night and therefore can go unnoticed. In the work the artist alludes to similarly powerful, invisible forces that are at play in all our lives. David Barnes’ practice is grounded in long-term collaborations within communities in south Wales - using a layered approach that combines photography, film and installation.
SINGLE IMAGE
FOURTH PRIZE
Silvia Odeta Catana University of Wales, Newport PhD 1
PROJECT
RUNNER-UP
Drawing Breath Aisling Kane University of Ulster Alumni This work is also a small series within a larger body of work about the place I grew up. Initially I was inspired by the work of Dutch and Flemish painters such as Johannes Vermeer who depicted his subjects in interior spaces bathed in natural light. I also drew inspiration from James Joyce’s ‘The Dubliners’. Joyce brought the inconsequential actions of his commonplace subjects into significance for the reader. With this in mind I placed the everyday lives of my subjects on a platform and made the unimportant precious.
PROJECT
RUNNER-UP
Faรงade Basil Al-Rawi University of Westminster Alumni The Irish property bubble burst in 2008, precipitating the ongoing economic crisis in the country. As credit dried up and developers went into receivership, developments were abandoned at various stages of completion. Empty housing estates, skeletal buildings and zoned wastelands now mar the landscape. Many sites on the periphery of towns and cities remain encircled by hoardings, some covered in hyper real imagery and grandiose slogans that contradict the reality. These fences obstruct our view and act like screens, projecting a fictional past over the present actuality. They have become part of the topography of the country, relics of an illusionary age.
SINGLE IMAGE
FIFTH PRIZE
Spectrum Housing Developments Gareth Johnson University of Westminster BA 3
PROJECT
RUNNER-UP
Ringland Estate, Newport Magdalena Turner University of Wales, Newport MA 2 This image is from a body of work created on Ringland estate in Newport. The estate was built in 1950s to accommodate the families of the workers from the Spencer Steelworks. After the decline of British steel industry and the recession in recent history of Britain, this Welsh estate and its people are dealing with unemployment, alcohol addiction, drug abuse, poor housing, despair and the loss of, once very strong, working class identity. This, once very proud, working class community is suffering from the lack of education and work opportunities for its youngest generation. It finds itself on the bottom of government priorities and its members survive the only way they know how. That means they are deeply dependant on the government’s welfare system and the family unit is suffering. The young generation retains its child-like innocence, but the lack of ambition, encouragement and hope for the future is very apparent. This series is a document from a point of view of a photographer who is resident on the estate and therefore an insider in some ways, but an outsider in many more ways as I come from the Czech Republic and for many reasons, will never fully belong into this close community.
SINGLE IMAGE
RUNNERS-UP
Freedom Zuzanna Kamusinski University of Westminster BA 3
Regina Laboris Kit Oates University of Westminster Alumni
PROJECT
RUNNER-UP
Migrations Maria Pappa University of Westminster Alumni ‘Migrations’ is a series of portraits of young women, who have moved to London from countries, suffering the effects of the financial crisis, such as Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal. In my pictures, I place them beside a landscape, a visual echo of their aspirations for the future, their manifested utopia. Away from their homeland and family, these women strive for a better life. They personify a modern wave of inter-European migration, where London transforms into a new ‘Promised Land’. Focusing on young women, I use the power of portraiture to express their state of emotional flux in a strange place, at the same time projecting my own experience of being an immigrant in London. I came from Greece, where the consequences of the economic crisis have been the most severe – my only solution was to leave in hopes of finding better prospects. While this decision has had a major impact on my life I felt the need to document the significance of such a change on other people as well. My main interest is not to highlight the differences of each individual experience, but rather focus on universality of this modern day phenomena of European transmigration. I prefer not to reveal any personal details of the women, letting the audience identify with them without knowing their names, countries of origin or personal circumstances. My main goal is to study the emotional effects of immigration in more nuanced portraiture. Through the faces of these women and their accompanied landscape I attempt to portray the challenges the young people are facing during the economic recession of the European Union, which up until now had been a synonym for prosperity and growth.
SINGLE IMAGE
RUNNERS-UP
Untitled Ruta Skemaite Edinburgh Napier University BA 4
The Unknown Father to England Tory Gaston University of Ulster BA 3
PROJECT
FIFTH PRIZE
Made in Britain Guy Prowse University of Wales, Newport BA 3 In response to a British economy increasingly dependent on imports, a brief to make a series of colour photographs using only British made goods was proposed. Due to restraints and the unavailability of materials, an antiquated trichrome process was utilised to create colour photographs from black and white print film. Through original and the found images of former workers, it is possible for us to create a humanistic view of what can be perceived as cold and mechanical. The former workstations of the individual workers form the foundation of this project. Through an imagined link between individual and place, we can form a version of the past that is unique to us, both in resonance and poignancy.
PROJECT
RUNNER-UP
The Distance He Can Walk Grzegorz Jaworski University of Wales, Newport BA 3 The breakdown of a long relationship eternally marks individuals. All previously built, a palpable reality that forms the basis of identity, is completely broken down. The lack of support, dictated by social norms, causes an even deeper collapse in the inner chaos of remorse for wrong decisions. Even external stimuli in the form of daily duties, are not able to dissipate this state of mind. The environment occupied by the affected individual starts to mirror the inner change. Routes to work, places to shop, and even small reminders within the home portray fears and hopes. ‘The Distance He Can Walk’, is a study of this disintegration of a relationship.
PROJECT
RUNNER-UP
Untitled Lorna Evans University of Wales, Newport Alumni To most people the natural world is somewhat an anomaly, only encountering natural wildlife fleetingly and sometimes without even being conscious of it. This world becomes even more bewildering when night descends and the whole terrain appears to transform. Through these images, we cross the threshold into an unfamiliar realm, guided by dogs into a tense and mysterious world. We stumble across animals that we know, yet have become alien to us. These photographs are intended to show our turbulent relationship with animals and highlight how estranged from the natural world we have become.
PROJECT
RUNNER-UP
Untitled Sam Laughlin University of Wales, Newport Alumni The project is intended as an exploration of history as it can be read in architecture. It is concerned specifically with Germany. It focuses on architectural remnants from two significant periods of Twentieth Century German history. These structures are testament to political regimes that shaped the built environment according to their ideals they stand as architectural expressions of state ideology, projecting conceptions of the nation from the past into the present.
SPONSORS SHARMAN & CO
BOB BOOKS
Sharman & Co. is a family run business that has been printing newspapers for over 100 years. From the early days of newspaper production through to today’s rise of digital media, we have been printing newsprint products for an ever changing market. Although many may say that the newspaper is dying, we believe that the format still has much to offer. Newsprint products are tactile, impart a sense of immediacy, and are attention grabbing in an increasingly media saturated digital world. Today we specialise in putting your creativity onto newsprint, creating papers for the worlds of art, fashion, film, photography and new media.
West London based Bob Books is one of the UK’s most innovative photo book company. Bob Books are defined by the quality of their production and printing and are leading UK supplier of photographic paper photobooks. Bob Books photobooks are the perfect way to document and showcase your portfolios and projects. Our wall art range launched in the Autumn, allowing us to bring the same exceptional print values to posters, canvases and gallery mounts.
MANFROTTO Manfrotto Distribution is the leading global provider of photographic and videography supports, providing solutions for photographers of all abilities and interests. As the organisation continues to widen its range of photo-related accessories, photographers now have the chance to invest in Manfrotto-branded camera bags, clothing and LED lights, all designed to complement each other and ensure that the user is able to benefit from the same level of build quality and product functionality that has come to represent the Manfrotto brand over the last forty years. Recognising a continued responsibility to support the wider photographic community, Manfrotto Distribution is once again proud to support the 6th annual University of Westminster’s WESTPHOTO competition. The fulfilment of creative talent is something that Manfrotto Distribution firmly believes in and with WESTPHOTO providing photographers with the perfect outlet through which to display this talent, we once again look forward to seeing the results in 2012. EPSON Epson constantly invests in research and development to ensure that its printers, inks and paper get the results that customers demand. Because of this the company is able to offer a range of paper to suit every need. With a selection of media for fine art, crisp clear photographic prints, offices, presentations and graphics to name a few any job can be completed to a brilliant standard. Epson’s quality Fine Art paper comes in a range of textures, finishes and sizes and is the preferred choice for professional artists who want to bring their work to life. MOO MOO was born out of a love of beautiful, high-quality print. We’re a new kind of online printing business. MOO.COM helps you easily create professional Business Cards using your unique photos. Upload your latest photos to create a truly portable and professional portfolio for your pocket. We know students need to stand out from the competition, so WESTPHOTO and MOO.COM teamed up to offer you 100 free MiniCards or 50 free Business Cards.
Photography and arts are fundamental to our humanity. They inspire us, encouraging creativity, beauty and imagination. They help us express our values and bring together cultures and originality. Education is part of our lives and we want to support projects such as the University of Westminster’s annual WESTPHOTO photography prize, by giving students an opportunity to publish their work for future generations to get inspired by. Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary. – Cecil Beaton