Jack Smethers (b.1996)

Jaiden

From the series White Hart Lane

April 2019

In the ongoing series White Hart Lane, British photographer Jack Smethers returned to Tottenham, the north London district where he spent his childhood years. His aim was to address the evolution of one of Britain’s most diverse communities following the 2011 Tottenham riots and the area’s gentrification after the redevelopment of the Tottenham Hotspur football stadium.

While researching the project he contacted local activist Hesketh Benoit, who promotes access to sport in a safe environment as an alternative to violence for the young people of Tottenham. Through Benoit, Smethers was introduced to basketball player Jaiden, a ‘sharp and talented young black man who is often overlooked in the media’s portrayal of inner city London youth’.

Jack Smethers undertook an FdA Photography and a BA (Hons) in Visual Arts Practice at the University of Brighton. His work explores the impact of extraordinary people among communities and subcultures who would otherwise go unnoticed. His work has been included in exhibitions at the Brighton Photo Fringe Festival and has been seen in group exhibitions in Torquay and Manchester. Smethers’s photographs have been published in the Tottenham Community Press and his commercial clients have included the Fawcett Society and the British and Irish Modern Music Institute.

Ana Cuba (b.1989)

Stormzy

December 2019

Cuba’s commission for the New York Times was shot the week before Stormzy’s chart-topping album Heavy is the Head (H.I.T.H) was released. The Spanish photographer had just fifteen minutes with the musician whose late arrival meant there was very little daylight remaining, and this resulting soft-hued portrait was one of the first Cuba took. Stormzy, whose contributions to music and the promotion of diversity in education are widely recognised, appears relaxed belying his nervous energy just ahead of the much anticipated second studio album release. Cuba states; ‘that's what my job is about most of the time; capturing that half-second long expression that makes a portrait memorable.’

Ana Cuba undertook a BA in Audiovisual Communication at the Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona followed by an MA in Art Direction at the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne. Her work has been seen in numerous international publications including the New York Times, Wallpaper, Monocle Magazine and Vanity Fair Spain. Cuba has also been engaged by commercial and fashion houses including Rapha, Stella McCartney and Apple.

Matthew Thorne (b.1993)

Derik Lynch Dancing in Drag on Inmar Ground in Pastel (Aputula, Central Australia)

From the series The Australians

October 2019

Derik Lynch is a Yankunytjatara man whose land is the remote north west of South Australia, also known as the APY lands. An initiated indigenous man, he is an openly queer artist, performer and dancer. Having started singing and dancing aged five, Lynch appeared in the acclaimed theatre production Namatjira and travelled with the play for its presentation at the Southbank Centre in London. The image was taken by Thorne during the making of Dipped in Black a film and photographic project undertaken as a collaboration with Lynch exploring his childhood growing up in the Central Desert of Australia in dream and memory. Thorne explains that part of its significance: ‘This photo was taken as Derik danced drag on sacred Inmar ground for his mob, the first time this has been done to our knowledge in 65,000yrs+ of indigenous history’.

Matthew Thorne is an Australian film director and photographer whose work is focused around the relationship between time, community, land, and spirituality. He describes his work as examining ‘the “curse” of Australia; how the colonial history has irrevocably interceded in the creation of a “good” nation’. His work is in the collections of the National Library of Australia, National Museum of Australia, and the Art Gallery of South Australia. His films and photography have been nominated and awarded at the Australian Photography Awards, the Cannes Lions and the Berlin Music Video Awards.

Lloyd Ramos (b.1991)

Indecisive moments: Embrace

From the series Walthamstow Market, COVID-19 Reopening

June 2020

Lloyd Ramos had been working at his family’s grocery shop during lockdown and spent much time watching people in Walthamstow Market in east London. He made this portrait after spotting a family shopping for clothes. Tired of waiting, one of the women decided to embrace her sister. For Ramos, the warmth and connection of this gesture contrasted with the activity in the market. The rituals of shopping began to take on meaning for him within the context of the tumultuous and uncertain times and led to the series focusing on the market in the wake of lockdown. He used his iPhone propped up on a pallet of rice with a long exposure app to make the photograph.

British photographer Lloyd Ramos gained a BA degree in English literature from Queen Mary, University of London. He has worked as a photographic assistant and a location scout for film and photography projects. This is the first time his work has been published or exhibited.

Kiki Xue (b.1986)

2020

August 2020

Fashion photographer Xue reflected upon the global nature of the Covid-19 pandemic - this universality influenced the obscurification of his model’s faces. Xue used the artist LuHuang's 'creatures' mask to create a detailed vibrant facade. The image is both alluring and disturbing - the ‘portrait’ is absent. An alternative portrait shows the model wearing detritus with which she is trapped in a net. The model’s downcast solemnity juxtaposed absurdly with the piled-up rubbish alludes to the global disaster of uncontrolled consumerism and waste within the natural world.

Chinese photographer Kiki Xue studied at Xihua University, Chengdu, China and currently lives and works as a fashion photographer in Paris. In his work, he aims to convey his appreciation of beautiful, imperfect objects and people through a variety of cultural forms. Kiki Xue’s portraits have been seen in publications including national Vogue titles in Italy, China and UAE as well as Harper’s Bazaar China. They have also been seen in group exhibitions including Beyond Fashion (2020 Shanghai, 2019 Hong Kong), Miami Art Fair (2019) and Photo Vogue Festival, Milan (2016).

Ryan Prince (b.1991)

Twin Sisters (Aaliyah and Alisa)

From the series Can You Sit for Me?

January 2020

Prince has captured the playful interaction of his twin sisters Aaliyah and Alisa against the backdrop set within the living space. Through his series Can You Sit for Me? Prince uses his own family as a route into an exploration of how the black body is seen and represented. His portrayal of a contemporary black family from London, made with the unique intimacy of being part of that family, aims to challenge racial stereotypes.

Ryan Prince undertook a BA (Hons) degree in fine art at the University of East London and is currently undertaking an MA in documentary photography and photojournalism at the University of Westminster. He won the Stationers Bursary Award 2019 and the Martin Parr Foundation Bursary Award 2020. Prince’s work has been seen in group exhibitions in London and in magazines including UKUNST magazine, January 2020.

Tim Pearse (b.1984)

Portrait of Rosina

February 2020

Changing beauty standards mean that women are increasingly embracing messages of body positivity and breaking down misconceptions around previously stigmatised conditions. Rosina is part of a growing movement of women who choose to proudly display their facial hair and open up conversations around bodily hair growth, with the aim of normalising their experiences. This contemplative portrait was taken by British photographer Tim Pearse in his Bristol studio, using a 10x8 view camera and soft natural light from a nearby window. Pearse uses a labour intensive printing process in which a silver gelatin print is over exposed and partially developed in lith film developer, which allows Pearse to achieve rich nuances of tone and texture in the final print.

Tim Pearse undertook a BA (Hons) degree in photography at Plymouth College of Art. His work was recognised at the 2015 British Journal of Photography Breakthrough Awards where he was the winner of the graduate single image category. His work has been seen in numerous group exhibitions in the UK and US, with solo exhibitions in Tiverton and London.

Kiki Xue (b.1986)

2020

August 2020

Dirk Rees (b.1972)

Friday Prayer

February 2020

This portrait of Kadi Sissoko was made by Rees in a pop-up studio erected outside the newly built mosque in Dakar, Senegal, which claims to be the largest in West Africa. Here he photographed a series of women who visited the mosque for Friday prayer. Sissoko’s powerful gaze presides over the delicate personal details captured - such as her glinting jewellery. Rees grew up in Germany but was born and has lived in Africa for many years - where he enjoys connecting with people, often in remote areas and making portraits; he is always aware of the ‘confrontation between the photographer and the sitter’ in the resulting portrait.

Dirk Rees is a South African-born photographer who grew up and studied in Germany. In addition to his extensive portfolio of commissioned work, his personal projects often feature landscapes and human interaction with nature. His work has been seen in publications including the Sunday Times, British Journal of Photography and 125 Magazine. Rees’s work has been seen in solo and group exhibitions in the UK, Holland, Germany and China, and was selected for inclusion in the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2013.

Kiki Xue (b.1986)

2020

August 2020

Ryan Prince (b.1991)

Mum (Valerie)

From the series Can You Sit for Me?

December 2019

This portrait of his mother, Valerie is part of a project whereby black British photographer Prince uses his camera as a tool to focus on their mother-son relationship and to confront his perceived distance between them. The project explores Roland Barthes’ idea of trying to find the essence of a person through the act of photography. Prince has used studio tropes; a backdrop and stool, in the living room - juxtaposing the formality of a ‘portrait sitting’ with details of domesticity - for instance his mother’s hairbrush and glasses, which were placed aside, in preparation for the portrait.

Dirk Rees (b.1972)

Arek

February 2020

Rees approached Arek among a group of men exercising at sunrise in Dakar, Senegal. He was captivated by the man’s physical presence and made a number of portraits over a few minutes, capturing his sand-flecked torso. This powerful and solemn portrait of both physical beauty and psychological strength speaks to Rees’ inquiry into what represents a truthful portrait.

Silvia Rosi (b.1992)

Self-Portrait as My Father

From the series Encounter

October 2019

Italian-Togolaise photographer Silvia Rosi draws on the aesthetic of West African studio portraiture to connect with her family history and perform a fictional portrait of her father, a man she never met, as a journey of self-discovery to understand her own history through the bodies of the people who played a crucial role in shaping it. Rosi uses props to retell the story of her father’s migration from his hometown in Africa to Italy: the books and suit signal he is a member of the educated middle class, who finds himself working humble jobs in Italy, picking tomatoes, as a migrant. The matrilineal skill of head carrying, traditionally used by market women to transport goods, is employed as a ‘metaphor of struggle which is present in the market and resonates in the act of migration’. The making of this series was supported by Jerwood Arts and Photoworks.

Silvia Rosi gained a BA degree in photography from the London College of Communication (UAL). Her portraits have been recognised by the Jerwood/Photoworks Awards 2020, the Lens Culture Portrait Award 2020 and have been selected for the BJP Portrait of Britain project 2020. Her work has been seen in exhibitions including the Getxo International Image Festival, the Athens Photo Festival at the Benaki Museum and the Landskrona Foto Competition, Sweden. Rosi’s commercial clients include the Financial Times, Wallpaper and the New Yorker and she has received commissions from Jerwood Arts/Photoworks, Southbank Centre, Autograph ABP.

Tim Pearse (b.1984)

Portrait of Rosina

February 2020

Mark Chilvers (b.1968)

Kanah Flex

July 2020

Chilvers’ portrait of Kanah Flex stems from a collaboration with people with autism from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. The portraits he makes are accompanied by interviews allowing the sitter to describe their personal experience of autism. Chilvers’ project aims to confront ignorance or stigma regarding autism, through empowering collaborative portraiture. Flex’s powerful and direct gaze is countered by the dynamic and elegant rotation of his limbs, just contained within the photograph’s frame.

British photographer Mark Chilvers undertook a BA at the University of Brighton and an MA at the University of the Arts London. His work has been seen in a solo exhibition in London and has been seen in publications including the Independent, the Guardian Weekend magazine, the New York Times and Stern. He has worked as a stills photographer for film and television productions and has taught and led community photography projects with young people and adults.

Silvia Rosi (b.1992)

Self-Portrait as My Father

From the series Encounter

October 2019

Chiara Gambuto (b.1991)

Bianca bleaching her hair

June 2020

Gambuto’s portrait of her friend Bianca was taken on their reunion following months of lockdown. The portrait captures a cigarette break in the South London garden while the hair bleach takes. Gambuto describes her delight in finally being together and helping dye her friend’s hair, while recording the much anticipated meeting with her medium format camera. The celebration of domestic ritual between friends is evident through the intimate portrait of Bianca who sits dignified and reflective amid the garden miscellany.

Born in 1991, Italian photographer Chiara Gambuto studied photography at cfp Bauer, Milan and has recently completed an MA in photography and urban cultures at Goldsmiths College, London. Her images frequently feature subjects with whom she has a personal relationship, so that they are ready to reveal their true ‘persona’ for the camera. Her work has been seen in group and solo exhibitions in Italy and the UK and in publications including Rolling Stone Italia, Elle Italia and Kerrang! magazine.

Ryan Prince (b.1991)

Mum (Valerie)

From the series Can You Sit for Me?

December 2019

Tobias Titz (b.1973) /Raymond Bush

Raymond Bush, (Jilamara artists)

From the series Polaroid Project

June 2019

This portrait is a collaboration between photographer Tobias Titz and Raymond Bush. Bush is a first nations artist whose country is Andranangoo (Goose Creek) in the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin in the Northern Territory in Australia. Taught by his grandfather Pakapanali (Paddy Bush), Raymond has been painting since he was sixteen. Jilamara is the Tiwi word that describes abstract geometric designs painted onto the body during ceremony that are related to that particular person’s dreaming and dance. It is also the name of the art centre where Bush and other artists work on Melville Island. Bush’s art, based on his personal jilamara, is made using ochres on bark, canvas and paper and incorporates animals such as jarrakalani (turtle), marntuwujini (dugong), tokwampuwi (birds) and mupiti (fish). The portrait is part of photographer Tobias Titz’s long term ‘Polaroid project’ begun in 1998, one strand of which combines his instantaneous portraits of First Nations Australians with etchings made by them.

Tobias Titz studied at the Staatliche Fachakademie für Photodesign, Munich. His work has been seen in exhibitions in the UK, Australia and China.He was selected as a finalist in the Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art (2019), Moran Contemporary Photography Prize (2018), Hasselblad Masters (2014) and was the winner of the Doug Moran Contemporary Photography Prize 2012. Publications that have featured Titz’s photographs include Photo Review Australia, Der Stern and Idea magazine.

Tobias Titz (b.1973) /Columbiere Tipungwuti

Columbiere Tipungwuti (Jilamara artists)

From the series Polaroid Project

June 2019

This portrait is a collaboration between photographer Tobias Titz and Columbiere Tipungwuti. Tipungwuti is a first nations artist whose country is Wurankuwu in the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin in the Northern Territory in Australia. Tipungwuti is associated with the Jilamara Arts Centre on Melville Island and often works in natural ochres on canvas as well as painting Pukamani pole (tutini) - tree trunks that have been carved and decorated and have an important place in burial customs for Tiwi people. For contemporary Tiwi artists Jilamara, the particular abstract designs featured in their work, are both an expression of individuality as well as a vital continuation of ancient traditions and stories passed down through generations and often used in ceremony. Tipumgwuti states: ‘Long, long, long time ago our great, great grand parents taught us how to paint, we have to have that in our heads and we gotta remember it and know it.' The portrait is part of photographer Tobias Titz’s long term ‘Polaroid project’ begun in 1998, one strand of which combines his instantaneous portraits of First Nations Australians with etchings made by them into the wet emulsion of the large format Polaroid negative..

Tobias Titz studied at the Staatliche Fachakademie für Photodesign, Munich. His work has been seen in exhibitions in the USA, UK Australia and China. He was selected as a finalist in the Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art (2019), the William and Winfred Bowness Photography Prize (2017), the Hasselblad Masters (2014) and was the winner of the Doug Moran Contemporary Photography Prize (2012). Publications that have featured Titz’s photographs include, Der Stern, Idea magazine and Australian Geographic.

Tobias Titz (b.1973) /Columbiere Tipungwuti

Columbiere Tipungwuti (Jilamara artists)

From the series Polaroid Project

June 2019

Phillip Walter Wellman (b.1983)

Taliban Prisoner

May 2020

Throughout 2020, the Afghan government released thousands of Taliban fighters from prison, meeting a condition set by the insurgent group for historic peace talks to begin. It was a gamble for peace. American reporter and photographer Philip Walter Wellman was given permission to report on the release of hundreds of prisoners from Bagram Prison, 50km north of Kabul, on 26 May 2020. Wellman uses the window of the bus, returning former inmates to Kabul, as a compositional device to frame the unnamed man’s face and invite close scrutiny of the human emotions experienced by the Taliban prisoner upon his release as he looks towards his future.

Phillip Walter Wellman undertook a BA (Hons) degree in journalism and sociology at City University, London and an MSc in conflict studies at the London School of Economics. Currently working as a reporter and photographer in Kabul, his work has won awards at the 2019 Tokyo International Foto Awards (Silver Winner, Editorial–Conflict), the 2020 Monovision Awards, (Honourable Mention Photojournalism) and the 2020 Prix de la Photographie Paris (Silver Award, Press/War).

Kiki Xue (b.1986)

2020

August 2020

Lydia Goldblatt (b.1978)

Eden

From the series Fugue

May 2020

This is an image of the photographer’s daughter Eden, made as part of a larger series exploring themes of motherhood, intimacy and distance. In music, a fugue is a short melody that is repeated and developed by more than one line that can reappear as a recurring motif throughout a score. The word also refers to the psychological condition or episode of identity loss, often associated with a sudden departure from one’s usual environment.

Goldblatt made the portrait in her garden as Eden sits in a plastic seedling tent she has converted into self-contained space of her own. The larger series also includes portraits of Goldblatt’s partner and younger child. The narrative is ambiguous and weaves in and out of images of domestic tranquility as well as those conveying unease and tension, night streetscapes and views of empty playgrounds. All were made in close vicinity of the family home during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown in London, the photographer explains: ‘In making work about this time, I drew on my own small sphere, a radius of about 50 metres, 4 people, and a handful of streets. I am incredibly privileged to be able to do so. My home and my camera have both offered places of refuge and safety’.

Just before this unexpected and intense period of confinement, Goldblatt’s own mother had died and the series starts with a photograph of the family scattering her ashes. The project is a meditation on mothering her own children and a reflection on her own mother and her loss, but also the loss that so many people have experienced in the last year.

Of the portrait, Goldbatt says: ‘In such close, sometimes blissful, sometimes painful proximity to my children, I am aware of all that remains unknown between us. We are fused and separate, present and absent, elusive. I work on film [on a medium format camera], so the process too is blind and unknown – like the context, an invisible virus, marked by inaccessibility and intangibility’.

Lydia Goldblatt gained an MA in photography from the London College of Communication. Her work has been exhibited and published internationally in group and solo shows in the UK, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Greece, China and Malaysia.

Judges’ comments:

The judges felt that Lydia Goldblatt’s portrait embodied the psychological complexity of the events of this year. The contrast between the attractive, suburban garden and the incongruous presence of the tent as a bubble presented wonderful layers and embodied what photography should be able to do.

Alys Tomlinson (b.1975)

Samuel

From the series Lost Summer

July 2020

Alys Tomlinson began her project Lost Summer, just after lockdown restrictions were eased, in June 2020. The series comprises forty-four portraits of young people dressed to attend the highly anticipated school leaver’s prom night – events that were unable to take place in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Tomlinson explains: ‘The school year ended abruptly, with no opportunity to say goodbye to friends and nothing to mark the occasion. I photographed teens all dressed up in what they would have worn to the prom’.

The photographer, who has an ongoing interest in exploring the transformative and self-aware teenage years, began by contacting families in her local area and working with friends of friends. She did not direct her participants’ dress and each portrait was made in what the sitter had planned to wear for their graduation event. Tomlinson works with film on a large format camera, a much slower process than shooting digitally and this became an important part of making the images: ‘you have to be patient working in this way…and I think using this camera shifts the relationship you have with the sitter. You have to take your time…A lot of the teenagers enjoyed learning about the process as they hadn’t really seen a camera like this before and its quite a performance…My hope was that it made them feel special for a small amount of time’.

There was also no casting involved so Tomlinson made a portrait of every person who responded to her request, scheduling an appointment to photograph them at their home without really knowing what the setting would be. The portraits were all taken outdoors so that gardens and parks became the backdrops against which each person posed. When seen in sequence, these natural backgrounds become something like an implied studio, visually unifying the series while also allowing the distinct personality and style of each sitter to emerge. She reflects: ‘I feel there is a vulnerability and sadness to the portraits but also a resilience…they represent a loss and longing but also celebrate each teenager as an individual navigating this extraordinary time’.

Alys Tomlinson studied photography at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design and an MA in Anthropology of Travel, Tourism and Pilgrimage at SOAS, University of London. She was selected for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition in 2017 and won the Sony World Photographer of the Year Award in 2018. Her work has been seen in numerous exhibitions in the UK and Europe, while Tomlinson’s book Ex-Voto, the culmination of a five-year photographic journey to Catholic pilgrimage sites in Ireland, Poland, and France, was published in 2019.

Judges’ comments:

The judges felt that Alys Tomlinson’s portraits were very simple, but powerful images with a beautiful clarity. Without being heavy handed, they spoke to the events of 2020, including lockdown, and the generation most affected by them.

Alfonso de Gregorio (b.1978)

I Don’t Want My Son To Be Afraid of Me, DMZ – Iraqi border

From the series W.A.R. – War Against Reality

March 2020

Italian artist and cybersecurity technologist Alfonso de Gregorio set out to question the limitations of embedded war photojournalism in his series W.A.R. – War Against Reality. War documentary footage sourced from the internet is distilled and compressed by de Gregorio, using a computational process, into abstract compositions with minimal colour palettes. This rejection of traditional mimesis in favour of subverting representation and narrative, serves as a commentary on the often selective and partisan depictions of conflict by war photographers. The sitter in the image is Dan Futrell, his portrait occluded but faintly discernible, an Infantry Officer awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.

Alfonso de Gregorio undertook an MSc in Computer Science Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Italy and an MSc in Information Security, Royal Holloway University of London. His work has been seen in group exhibitions in France, the Netherlands and the US and selected for awards including the Allard Prize Photography contest (2017), IMA NEXT award (2019, 2020), PHOTO IS:RAEL, Tel Aviv (2019) and the Hamdan International Photography Award (2018).

Ryan Prince (b.1991)

Twin Sisters (Aaliyah and Alisa)

From the series Can You Sit for Me?

January 2020

Dirk Rees (b.1972)

Friday Prayer

February 2020

Yolanda Y. Liou (b.1990)

Enam Ewura Adjoa Asiama

From the series Thank You For Playing With Me

2019

Taiwan-born Yolanda Y. Liou uses photography to explore the human body and address her own struggles with body image. Liou explains that in Asian culture, thin is often regarded as beautiful and the ‘relentless expectation of being skinny’ affected her ‘mentally and physically’ from a young age. After relocating to the United Kingdom in 2011, when she first picked up a camera, Liou began to view her body from a different perspective. ‘I do feel more at ease with myself’, she explains, ‘because of an environment that encourages you to be yourself’.

Liou was reflecting on body image in eastern and western culture when she encountered plus-size model and body positivity advocate, Enam Asiama, on Instagram. Identifying as ‘a Black, African-British, fat, queer, and femme individual’, Asiama uses her social media platform to fight for inclusivity and visibility for plus-size role models, empowering women to take control of their own narratives. Something clicked for Liou, and she realised, ‘I create images, images don’t create me’. Asiama accepted Liou’s invitation to collaborate on a photographic project, asking her friend and fellow model Vanessa Russell to participate, and the three women began a project to celebrate body diversity.

Liou works as a fashion photographer, but chose to eschew stylists, hairdressers and make-up artists, asking the two women to style themselves for this shoot, which was made using Liou’s 35mm film Pentax camera. Asiama and Russell prepared moodboards and worked with Liou to incorporate these ideas, their energy and dynamism generating a sense of creative collaboration and fun that gave the project its title, Thank you for playing with me. This portrait of Asiama was taken towards the end of the day, in the living room of her west London flat, with furniture pushed aside to create a plain backdrop to pose against. Stripped of all accoutrements, Asiama’s body fills the frame, the soft afternoon light highlighting nuances of texture in her skin. There is a feeling of honesty and directness to the portrait, softened by Liou’s tonal colour palette.

In an increasingly toxic culture of online bullying and fat shaming, Liou hopes their project invites the viewer to see beyond socially conditioned stereotypes of beauty, and to question why people feel entitled to vocalise offensive and abusive comments on social media. Asked why she repeatedly returns to the theme of the body and the female nude, Liou responds that her ultimate aim is ‘to demonstrate self-love and being comfortable with who you are in your own body’.

Yolanda Y. Liou studied at Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan and is based in London and Brighton. Her work has been featured in publications including The British Journal of Photography, i-D, and It's Nice That. She was selected for inclusion in the Creative Review Photography Annual 2019, the Lens Culture B&W Awards - Editor's Pick 2018 and the 2018 BJP Portrait of Britain - Editor’s Pick & People’s Choice Award. Her commissioned fashion work includes GQ, Marie Claire and Rouge Fashionbook.

Judges’ comments:

The judges responded to the strength and directness of Liou’s portrait. They felt that in pose and point of view it presented an empowering representation of her sitter that conveyed a sense of authentic identity, collaboration and trust. Formally the judges thought highly of Liou’s manipulation of light and her confident allusion to the nude in the history of art and photography.

Dirk Rees (b.1972)

Arek

February 2020

Mark Chilvers (b.1968)

Kanah Flex

July 2020

Alfonso de Gregorio (b.1978)

I Don’t Want My Son To Be Afraid of Me, DMZ – Iraqi border

From the series W.A.R. – War Against Reality

March 2020

Lydia Goldblatt (b.1978)

Eden

From the series Fugue

May 2020

Judges’ comments:

Olgaç Bozalp (b.1987)

Konya Boys

February 2019

This image was taken in Central Turkey at Salt Lake (Tuz Golu), near Olgaç Bozalp’s childhood town of Konya; where his family still lives. A group of local men are dressed in Burqas, the full-length garment and head covering traditionally worn by women in some Islamic cultures. There is an element of performance as two figures balance on the metal frame of a motorcycle and the others pose around them. The men come together almost as a troupe, suggesting shared experience. While some men and transgender women do wear burqa in Turkey, it is not conventional and can be controversial. Explaining his thinking around making the group portrait Bozalp says: ‘I wanted to challenge the way we look at gender identities. As a society we have normalised images of female-identifying genders being covered up, but put a man in a burqa and you get polar opposite emotions but the same reaction’. The photograph comes from a larger series in which the photographer explores the experience of migration both personally and conceptually and the disparate reasons people leave their homelands.

British-Turkish photographic Olgaç Bozalp studied art and performance at Near East University, Cyprus. His work has been in solo exhibitions in Paris and Eskisehr and group exhibitions in the UAE, Italy, Turkey and the US. His work has been published in magazines including Aperture, Dazed and Confused and the New York Times Style magazine and was selected for Unseen, British Journal of Photography, and 5 Emerging Talents exhibition, 2019.

Ingvar Kenne (b.1965)

Myuki Tomi, Chef, Nozawa, Japan, 2020

From the series CITIZEN: Portraits since 1994

Feburary 2020

In 1994, Swedish-born Australian photographer Ingvar Kenne began an ongoing portrait project, Citizen, to photograph the people he encountered on his travels, always using the same square format Hasselblad camera and film. For Kenne, the intention was not to generate a taxomony of portraiture, but rather, to create a visual record of the interactions with his ‘fellow man’ around the world: he states, ‘our unique experience of life is something that we all share’. In this portrait of Japanese chef Tomi, the snowfall creates surface abstraction beyond which Tomi’s direct gaze is met. Her protective facial mask, pulled down under her chin, provides a subtle reminder of the coronavirus pandemic affecting people across the globe in 2020.

Ingvar Kenne undertook a BFA at the University of Photography, Gothenburg in his native Sweden. His work has been seen in numerous solo exhibitions in the UK, Australia and Sweden, with his ongoing CITIZEN project being exhibited on an Australian national tour. Kenne’s portraits have been seen in competition and award exhibitions including the Josephine Ulrick & Win Schubert Photography Award, the Bowness Photography Prize and on five occasions in the National Photographic Portrait Prize, Canberra, winning the award in 2009.

Nina Röder (b.1983)

Brillen Doppel [Double Glasses]

From the series Champagner im Keller [Champagne in the Cellar]

April 2020

Röder’s self-portrait with her mother, Dagmar Röder shows them both wearing clothes that belonged to her deceased grandmother. The background is her grandmother’s favourite blanket, that was wrapped around her when she died. During lockdown, Röder and her mother went through her grandparents’ belongings in her mother’s basement, where this portrait, confronting the strong emotions connected to belongings and clothing, was staged. This performative portrait considers feelings of loss and grief but results in an amusing slightly absurd image, which hints at a generational family influence.

German photographer Nina Röder undertook a BA degree in theatre, media and literature studies at the University Bayreuth, followed by a media art and design studies MFA at Bauhaus University Weimar. She has recently completed a practice-based Ph.D., researching ‘Forms of letting go: Performative strategies in staged photography’. Her work has been seen in solo exhibitions in Munich, Berlin and Karlsruhe and in group exhibitions in the USA, France and Germany. She was a prize winner at the 2018 LensCulture Exposure Awards and Flash Forward Award, Canada.

Nikki Toole (b.1965)

Tilman Ruff AO: Nobel Peace Laureate

July 2019

Tilman Ruff (b.1955) was the founding chair of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 for its ‘work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons’. Ruff has campaigned for three decades researching and writing on nuclear issues, most notably toward the United Nations treaty banning nuclear weapons with effect from January 2021. A member of the Medical Association for the Prevention of War, he serves as medical advisor to the international department of the Australian Red Cross and is a member of the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region. The portrait was commissioned by ICAN and the sittings took place in the photographer’s kitchen, using available light. Toole had asked Ruff to bring clothing he felt comfortable in, for which he selected a well-worn, but cherished, red jumper.

Scottish photographer Nikki Toole undertook a BA (Hons) degree in photography, film and television at University of Westminster, London and an MSc Computing, Napier University, Edinburgh. She has lectured in London, Edinburgh, Melbourne and the United States on the subjects of photography and cultural identities. Toole’s work is held in private and public collections including that of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia. She has frequently been included in the exhibitions of the National Photographic Portrait Prize, Australia, and her series Skater was exhibited in galleries in Australia and Berlin.

Jermaine Francis, (b.1975)

Something that was so familiar becomes distant

July 2020

This image was taken by Francis as part of his ‘lockdown journal’, Something that was so familiar becomes distant. Each week he walked the streets of London streets making photographic notations of often unremarkable or ordinary interactions and observations, in the completely unprecedented and extraordinary period. These were published online each week by Beauty Papers with a playlist devised by Francis. This photograph was made on the Holloway road in North London and highlights the underlying incongruity of the ‘new normal’. As the woman rests on an armchair outside a furniture shop, the pattern and vibrancy of her headwrap and dress are in contrast to the ubiquity of her blue disposable face mask – an urban emblem of life in the pandemic.

Jermaine Francis undertook foundation studies at Walsall College of Art before gaining a BA (Hons) degree in Photographic Studies from Derbyshire University. His work has been seen in publications including British Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and The Face and has been included in exhibitions including The Invisibles in conjunction with I-D (2019) and ICP Concerned curated by David Campany at the International Centre of Photography (2020). Francis was previously selected for inclusion in the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize in 2016 and 2019.

Justin Keene (b.1989)

Juliet

From the series It Must be Built From Ashes

February 2019

The township of Mitchells Plain on the outskirts of Cape Town was purposely built in the 1970s as a relocation area during South Africa’s apartheid regime. Documentary photographer Justin Keene offers a portrait of the communities and youth of the Cape Flats in his series, It Must Be Built From Ashes. Using a medium format film camera from a low angle, Keene bestows a sense of monumentality on his subject. Standing at the centre of a playground, high school leaver Juliet is photographed in her uniform. Keene confronts the inequalities of the South African education system, which denies children in impoverished areas access to better opportunities, situating the political and social struggles of the South African nation in the context of a stronger and more promising future embodied by this younger generation.

Based in Britain and South Africa, photographer Justin Keene undertook an MA in philosophy and theology at the University of Edinburgh and an MA in documentary photography at the University of South Wales, Cardiff. In addition to commissioned commercial and editorial work, Keene’s personal projects explore concepts of identity and representation in South Africa. His work has been selected for inclusion in the Sony World Photography Awards, the LensCulture Exposure Awards and the BJP Portrait of Britain and published in Nataal Media, It’s Nice That and Oath Magazine.

Dan Nelken (b.1946)

Olga’s Sledge Hammer

From the series HeadStrong: The Women of Rural Uganda: The Quarry Workers

December 2019

Dan Nelken’s series of portraits of working women in Uganda typically utilise a three-quarter length format to capture their subject. Having already taken quarry worker Olga’s formal portrait, Nelken captured a smaller and more revealing detail. He noticed Olga’s beaten hammer, a well-worn tool she had owned for longer than she could remember, and composed a second image that frames her working smock and hand, calloused from years of labour. For Nelken, this alternative portrait recognises Olga’s ‘perseverance and dignity’.

Dan Nelken undertook a Bachelor of Fine Art degree at the Pratt Institute, New York. His work has been seen in numerous group shows and his project Till the Cows Come Home: County Fair Portraits was exhibited in venues in the US, Singapore and Germany. Nelken’s work has been recognised in international competitions including the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards 2020 and First Prize in the 13 Pollux Awards, The Worldwide Photography Gala Awards, Professional Section, People Category. He was previously selected for inclusion in the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize in 2018.

Nikki Toole (b.1965)

Tilman Ruff AO: Nobel Peace Laureate

July 2019

Dan Nelken (b.1946)

Olga: Age 74. Working in quarry for 28 years.

From the series HeadStrong: The Women of Rural Uganda: The Quarry Workers

December 2019

Israel-born American photographer Dan Nelken created a series of portraits of working women in rural Uganda over three years. As a foreigner, Nelken developed a mutual trust with the workers, who facilitated his access to the quarry, and partnered with Ugandan author Beatrice Lamwaka to transcribe each woman’s narrative. Here, quarry worker Olga is posed against a mosquito netting backdrop that obscures the background and separates her physically and metaphorically from her surrounding environment. With this formal portrait, Nelkin aimed to portray Olga as a ‘powerful, proud, hard-working and resilient’ woman.

Olgaç Bozalp (b.1987)

Konya Boys

February 2019

Justin Keene (b.1989)

Juliet

From the series It Must be Built From Ashes

February 2019

Dan Nelken (b.1946)

Olga’s Sledge Hammer

From the series HeadStrong: The Women of Rural Uganda: The Quarry Workers

December 2019

Nina Röder (b.1983)

Brillen Doppel [Double Glasses]

From the series Champagner im Keller [Champagne in the Cellar]

April 2020

Tim Franco (b.1982)

Lee Ga-yeon, North Korean Defector

From the series Unperson – Portraits of North Korean Defectors

May 2019

In George Orwell’s novel 1984, an ‘unperson’ is someone whose record has been erased from society. Self-taught French-Polish photographer Tim Franco adopted this term to title a series of portraits of North Korean defectors. The journey out of North Korea is often long and perilous, with constant fear of arrest; Lee Ga-yeon recounted to Franco how she ‘crossed the river into China out of despair and starvation’. Franco recorded two-hour interviews with each sitter to understand their story, before taking only ten closely cropped polaroid portraits with a large format camera. Peeling apart the Polaroid, he subjects the negative paper sheet to a series of chemical processes, revealing a unique image full of unpredictable imperfections – a process which for Franco serves as a metaphor for the journey of these former North Korean citizens.

Tim Franco’s work has been seen in numerous group exhibitions in France, Finland, Germany and Malaysia, winning awards for his project Illicit Ink. He has published several monographs and his series Unperson - Portraits of North Korean Defectors was published in March 2020.

Rongguo Gao (b.1984)

Mother and Child

March 2019

Through meeting two children with Downs Syndrome from different families, Chinese photographer Gao became interested in both the common visual characteristics of the chromosomal condition and the differing ways that Downs Syndrome has been considered through history. Gao cites Andrea Mantegna’s Virgin and Child (c.1460) as a possible early depiction of a child with Downs Syndrome. He wished to portray this motherly love. Here the mother embraces her child with her back turned - it is the child’s gaze that confronts ours and offers a challenge to historically and socially constructed notions of disability.

Rongguo Gao gained a BA degree from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing. In 2014 he won the Grand Prize, PHODAR Biennial at Iliya Beshkov Art Gallery, Bulgaria and the Emerging Talent Jury Winner, EYETIME, New York. His work has been seen in group exhibitions in London, Paris and Singapore.

Sophia Evans (b.1968)

Jennifer and Leonor with bitten into watermelon

From the series River Lea, Hackney

July 2020

The strict lockdown rules during the summer of 2020 meant that many east London residents flocked to the River Lea in Hackney to safely enjoy the warm weather and reunite outdoors with friends and family. British photographer Sophia Evans noticed friends Jennifer and Leonor sitting by the riverbank, enjoying a drink together in the shallow water. Evans asked to take their portrait, the resulting image punctuated by the vibrant colours of Jennifer’s hair and succulent watermelon against the dark green leaves of the surrounding trees. At a time when physical contact was limited by rules of social distancing, Evans’ composition betrays a natural desire for human connection.

Sophia Evans undertook a BA (Hons) degree in Latin American Studies at Portsmouth University before studying for a post graduate diploma at the London College of Communication. She won the 2002 Canon Woman Photojournalist of the Year Award received at the Visa Pour L’Image Photojournalism Festival for her work around the Mosquito Coast of Nicaragua and in 2003 won the Fifty Crows International Fund for Documentary Photography for her photo essay Dirty Oil Business about the Ogoni people in Nigeria’s Niger Delta and the effects of multi-national oil companies on their lives. Evans has since studied psychotherapy and counselling in London and her work has changed direction.

Simone Strijk (b.1977)

The pequi tree

March 2020

For generations, the pequi tree has assumed cultural significance in Brazilian indigenous myths, rituals and festivals and provided crucial nutritional sustenance to the people of Brazil’s remote Cerrado region. Brazilian photographer Simone Strijk photographed the Kalunga community, the largest quilombo or settlement in the region, established by people of African descent who had escaped slavery at the end of the eighteenth century. With its thick, strong branches, the tree becomes a site of play for the local children, who clamber amongst its branches. In Strijk’s black-and-white image, the tree fills the frame and obscures the horizon, a wealth of detail camouflaging the sitters and speaking of a harmonious blend between the children and their natural environment.

Simone Strijk studied Computer Science before attending the Fotoacademie, Amsterdam in the Netherlands where she has subsequently settled. As a photojournalist her portraits have been seen in numerous newspapers in Brazil and the Netherlands and in exhibitions in New Orleans, Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur. She was selected as a finalist in the competition Critical Mass, 2020.

Jermaine Francis, (b.1975)

Something that was so familiar becomes distant

July 2020

Dan Nelken (b.1946)

Olga: Age 74. Working in quarry for 28 years.

From the series HeadStrong: The Women of Rural Uganda: The Quarry Workers

December 2019

Simone Strijk (b.1977)

The pequi tree

March 2020

Sophia Evans (b.1968)

Three generations of the Diaz family from Medellin, Colombia

From the series River Lea, Hackney

August 2020

In the summer of 2020, the River Lea in east London became a refuge for locals – a place to escape the strict lockdown rules, to relax, swim, reconnect with nature and to safely reunite with friends and family. On a hot day in August, British photographer Sophia Evans noticed the river was unusually crowded with Latinos; one particular family caught her eye, carrying themselves in a proud and dignified way and emanating confidence in their own bodies. Having grown up in Central America, Evans approached the Diaz family and asked them in Spanish to pose for her camera, and they willingly accepted. Here three generations of the Diaz family are framed by the verdant foliage on the banks of the river.

Rongguo Gao (b.1984)

Mother and Child

March 2019

Sophia Evans (b.1968)

Jennifer and Leonor with bitten into watermelon

From the series River Lea, Hackney

July 2020

Sophia Evans (b.1968)

Three generations of the Diaz family from Medellin, Colombia

From the series River Lea, Hackney

August 2020

Erik Norrud (b.1969)

Anders

From the series The Divine

September 2019

Titled The Divine, Norrud’s series is a tribute to the children and young people of the Nordre Aasen health centre in Oslo, which specialises in complex disabilities. Norrud invited the young people he saw to participate in creating the series and to attend his studio for portrait sittings. With his portraits, Norrud hopes to remind the viewer that ‘we are all humans with an inviolable human dignity’. 29-year-old Anders always likes to be on the move, which proved challenging for Norrud when making his portrait outside using a large format analogue camera and natural light. However, Anders granted Norrud a small window of stillness to capture the image. Framed by a makeshift studio backdrop, his hands are entwined with two carers outside our field of vision, creating an image of mutual support and compassion.

Born in 1969, Norrud’s work focuses on people and storytelling. With a background in documentary photography, he uses his experience to create personal projects, commercial assignments and editorial commissions. His work has been seen in exhibitions in the UK and Norway and was nominated for the World Press Photo Global Talent Award, 2019. His series, Paralympic Athletes, won several printed media awards in Norway including the Best of Scandinavian News Design (SNDS), 2017. His editorial work has also been seen in a wide variety of Norwegian publications and in the Observer New Review.

Erik Norrud (b.1969)

Anders

From the series The Divine

September 2019

Will Robson-Scott (b.1983)

Steve McQueen on the set of Small Axe

November 2019

Robson-Scott’s documentary portrait visualises the creative challenge of filmmaking. The portrait of director Steve McQueen, head in hands, was captured by Robson-Scott - appointed unit stills photographer on the anthology film-series Small Axe (released November 2020). The blurred foreground tells of the ‘stolen’ nature of the shot - Robson-Scott had to be as discrete as possible, amid what he described as McQueen’s creative navigation of cast and crew and here his display of internal reflection. Cinematographer Shabier Kirchner, to McQueen’s right, awaits direction while the actors create a dynamic interactive composition.

British photographer Will Robson-Scott undertook a BA (Hons) degree in documentary photography at the University of South Wales, Newport. His work was shortlisted for the 1.4 awards in 2019 and 2018 and the Sony World Photography 2009 music category. Robson-Scott’s photographs have been seen in numerous international publications including Time Out (New York and London), Harper’s Bazaar, the Independent on Saturday and Dazed & Confused.

The Revd. Bertie Pearson (b.1978)

New Light

December 2019

Episcopal priest and photographer Reverend Bertie Pearson observed how his childhood home of Clarksville, a black owned area of Austin, Texas, was metamorphosing from a working-class enclave to an elite, wealthy neighbourhood. Many residents have been driven from homes and businesses by escalating rents and taxes, while community markets and social clubs have been torn down to build new homes. Only the churches remain unchanged as residents refuse to forfeit their houses of prayer. Pearson photographed members of the New Light Ebenezer Baptist Church, including Mr Bryant, an usher at New Light. Utilising a plain white backdrop and full of closely observed detail, these solemn and dignified portraits create a record of the church community in these disappearing neighbourhoods.

Bertie Pearson undertook a BA degree in history at the New College of California, Berkeley followed by a Masters of Divinity course at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. He undertook a Formation Year at Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford University and is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of the South. His photographs have been seen in solo and group exhibitions in San Francisco and Austin and publications including Vice, Huffington Post and the Oxford American.

Tobias Titz (b.1973) /Raymond Bush

Raymond Bush, (Jilamara artists)

From the series Polaroid Project

June 2019

Will Robson-Scott (b.1983)

Steve McQueen on the set of Small Axe

November 2019

Ingvar Kenne (b.1965)

Iio Ryoyi, Gardener, Hiroshima, Japan, 2019

From the series CITIZEN: Portraits since 1994

December 2019

Japanese gardener Ryoyi wears utilitarian garments and stands against the muted blues and greens of the tiled steps and shoreline, his luminous boots creating a vibrant punctum. Swedish-born Australian photographer Ingvar Kenne describes the act of his portrait making as being a world citizen and being curious about the other. This portrait of Ryoyi, with whom Kenne did not share the same language, invites questions - in seeing eye to eye we are left wanting to understand what life is like for a gardener in a modern Japanese city built anew after its nuclear detonation in 1945.

Tara Bogart (b.1968)

Marquita

From the series A Modern Hair Study

July 2019

During a 2011 visit to Paris’ National Library, American visual artist Tara Bogart came across a nineteenth century portrait by French photographer Nadar in which a young woman is seen only from behind, her hair styled with an ornate clip. In A Modern Hair Study, Bogart used the same oval frame as Nadar to create a contemporary response, photographing a range of female sitters in a pop-up Milwaukee studio. In seeing only the backs of their heads, the viewer is invited to consider the visual details that make each women unique and read them as clues to their personality. Although fashions and ideologies are generational, by photographing the women in this way, Bogart suggests that the struggles and desires of a young woman possess a timeless universality.

Tara Bogart undertook a BFA in communication design with an emphasis on photography followed by an MA in photography and image making at Paris College of Art, France. Her series A Modern Hair Study has been seen in solo exhibitions in New York, Chicago and Portland and acquired for public and private photography collections. Bogart’s work has also been selected for numerous group exhibitions in galleries across the US. Publications that have showcased her portraits include the British Journal of Photography, the New Yorker and HuffPost US.

Tara Bogart (b.1968)

Cecilia

From the series A Modern Hair Study

July 2019

Tara Bogart undertook a BFA in communication design with an emphasis on photography followed by an MA in photography and image making at Paris College of Art, France. Her series A Modern Hair Study has been seen in solo exhibitions in New York, Chicago and Portland and acquired for public and private photography collections. Boagrt’s work has also been selected for numerous group exhibitions in galleries across the US. Publications that have showcased her portraits include the British Journal of Photography, the New Yorker and HuffPost US.

Lloyd Ramos (b.1991)

Indecisive moments: Embrace

From the series Walthamstow Market, COVID-19 Reopening

June 2020

Tim Franco (b.1982)

Lee Ga-yeon, North Korean Defector

From the series Unperson – Portraits of North Korean Defectors

May 2019

The Revd. Bertie Pearson (b.1978)

New Light

December 2019

Nicky Thompson (b.1962)

Wild Swimmers

August 2019

This group portrait made while Thompson was a resident artist at the Dartmoor Summer School of Photography, celebrates the often serendipitous nature of photography; ‘nothing was planned the light, the subjects, the landscape: the image almost made itself’.Thompson’s photograph of a group of fellow participants following an early morning swim in the cold waters of the River Dart was made on her 8 x 10 inch plate camera, and developed in situ. The ambrotype (collodion positive) process, an early Victorian invention, with its relatively long exposure time and process imperfections, creates a timeless image of stillness and intimacy between these women.

British photographer Nicky Thompson gained a BA (Cons) degree in ceramics from Cardiff Institute of Higher Education and an MA in photography from Plymouth University in addition to training in education. She has undertaken residencies at Dartmoor Summer School and tHrIVE, Greenhill Arts, Moretonhampstead, Devon culminating in a community portrait of the town. Her photographs have also been seen in solo and group exhibitions in galleries in Devon.

Nicky Thompson (b.1962)

Wild Swimmers

August 2019

Lloyd Ramos (b.1991)

Indecisive moments: Choice

From the series Walthamstow Market, COVID-19 Reopening

June 2020

This portrait depicts a woman making a decision over what to buy and emphasizes her momentary stillness amid the bustle and movement of the Walthamstow Market in East London. The image comes from a series focusing on the becalmed state of the market in the wake of lockdown, exploring how people have coped with it. Working at his family’s grocery shop as a doorman, Ramos observed the flow of people and time. The photographs were made on his iPhone propped up on a pallet of rice. For the photographer, using long exposures from a fixed place and perspective ‘meant relinquishing control over the photographic process, while ordinary signs of agency, whether deciding what to buy or the intimate gesture of an embrace, took on a liminal quality and became something noteworthy in our new state of living’.

The Revd. Bertie Pearson (b.1978)

New Light

December 2019

Episcopal priest and photographer Reverend Bertie Pearson observed how his childhood home of Clarksville, a black owned area of Austin, Texas, was metamorphosing from a working-class enclave to an elite, wealthy neighbourhood. Many residents have been driven from homes and businesses by escalating rents and taxes, while community markets and social clubs have been torn down to build new homes. Only the churches remain unchanged as residents refuse to forfeit their houses of prayer. Pearson photographed members of the New Light Ebenezer Baptist Church, including Ms Spence, who at the age of ninety drives each Sunday from the small town of Manor, Texas to attend church. Utilising a plain white backdrop and full of closely observed detail, these solemn and dignified portraits create a record of the church community in these disappearing neighbourhoods.

Oghalé Alex Ogbaudu (b. 1994)

The Other Brother

From the series The Other Brother

February 2019

Taken for publication in Nataal magazine, Nigerian American Ogbaudu photographed twins Devontay and Dijon while working in London. The image comes from a larger series which is both a fashion story and a poignant meditation on understanding and solidarity - the brothers reflect and support each other but remain as two separate individuals. Ogbaudu’s work is often focused on shifting negative narratives around black men and women. Of the series he says: ‘There is an indescribable bond that exists between black men in spaces where you and another “brother” are the only two of your kind. It is emblematic of an unspoken understanding of brotherhood and solidarity. He’s your comfort, knowing that in any given situation, there is another black man simultaneously going through the same struggle and understands your experience’.

Oghalé Alex Ogbaudu lives and works in Britain and the US, having studied biology at Seattle University. His work focuses on changing the negative narratives surrounding black men and women, expressing feelings of togetherness through fashion, editorial, commercial and portrait photography. His work has been published in magazines including BYDESIGN and Viewpoint Colour Magazine. He was shortlisted for the PALM* Photo Prize, 2020.

Tara Bogart (b.1968)

Marquita

From the series A Modern Hair Study

July 2019

Ingvar Kenne (b.1965)

Iio Ryoyi, Gardener, Hiroshima, Japan, 2019

From the series CITIZEN: Portraits since 1994

December 2019

The Revd. Bertie Pearson (b.1978)

New Light

December 2019

Episcopal priest and photographer Reverend Bertie Pearson observed how his childhood home of Clarksville, a black owned area of Austin, Texas, was metamorphosing from a working-class enclave to an elite, wealthy neighbourhood. Many residents have been driven from homes and businesses by escalating rents and taxes, while community markets and social clubs have been torn down to build new homes. Only the churches remain unchanged as residents refuse to forfeit their houses of prayer. Pearson photographed members of the New Light Ebenezer Baptist Church, including Ms Spence, who at the age of ninety drives each Sunday from the small town of Manor, Texas to attend church. Utilising a plain white backdrop and full of closely observed detail, these solemn and dignified portraits create a record of the church community in these disappearing neighbourhoods.

Lloyd Ramos (b.1991)

Indecisive moments: Embrace

From the series Walthamstow Market, COVID-19 Reopening

June 2020

Ingvar Kenne (b.1965)

Myuki Tomi, Chef, Nozawa, Japan, 2020

From the series CITIZEN: Portraits since 1994

Feburary 2020

Lloyd Ramos (b.1991)

Indecisive moments: Choice

From the series Walthamstow Market, COVID-19 Reopening

June 2020

Oghalé Alex Ogbaudu (b. 1994)

The Other Brother

From the series The Other Brother

February 2019

Ingvar Kenne (b.1965)

Makenzie Hazelton, Cancer Survivor, Korrawartha, Australia

From the series CITIZEN: Portraits since 1994

August 2020

Ingvar Kenne’s portraits - part of a long-standing project ‘CITIZEN’ – are a record of his interactions with people from around the world and from all walks of life, each individual with their own stories to tell. This sensitive portrayal of a young cancer survivor with her pet rabbits, photographed in the garden of a small town in New South Wales, invites the viewer to seek out clues about the sitter. With Makenzie’s eyes closed, our gaze is drawn to the red eyes of her rabbit, embraced under the overcast sky.

Ingvar Kenne undertook a BFA at the University of Photography, Gothenburg in his native Sweden. His work has been seen in numerous solo exhibitions in the UK, Australia and Sweden, with his ongoing CITIZEN project being exhibited on an Australian national tour. Kenne’s portraits have been seen in competitions and awards exhibitions including the Josephine Ulrick & Win Schubert Photography Award, the Bowness Photography Prize and on five occasions in the Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, winning the award in 2009.

Tara Bogart (b.1968)

Cecilia

From the series A Modern Hair Study

July 2019

Tara Bogart undertook a BFA in communication design with an emphasis on photography followed by an MA in photography and image making at Paris College of Art, France. Her series A Modern Hair Study has been seen in solo exhibitions in New York, Chicago and Portland and acquired for public and private photography collections. Boagrt’s work has also been selected for numerous group exhibitions in galleries across the US. Publications that have showcased her portraits include the British Journal of Photography, the New Yorker and HuffPost US.

Ingvar Kenne (b.1965)

Makenzie Hazelton, Cancer Survivor, Korrawartha, Australia

From the series CITIZEN: Portraits since 1994

August 2020

Ingvar Kenne undertook a BFA at the University of Photography, Gothenburg in his native Sweden. His work has been seen in numerous solo exhibitions in the UK, Australia and Sweden, with his ongoing CITIZEN project being exhibited on an Australian national tour. Kenne’s portraits have been seen in competitions and awards exhibitions including the Josephine Ulrick & Win Schubert Photography Award, the Bowness Photography Prize and on five occasions in the Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, winning the award in 2009.

Phillip Walter Wellman (b.1983)

Taliban Prisoner

May 2020

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Alys Tomlinson (b.1975)

Jack

From the series Lost Summer

June 2020

Judges’ comments:

Alys Tomlinson (b.1975)

Jameela

From the series Lost Summer

July 2020

Judges’ comments:

Alys Tomlinson (b.1975)

Jameela

From the series Lost Summer

July 2020

Judges’ comments:

Alys Tomlinson (b.1975)

Jack

From the series Lost Summer

June 2020

Judges’ comments:

Chiara Gambuto (b.1991)

Bianca bleaching her hair

June 2020

Yolanda Y. Liou (b.1990)

Enam Ewura Adjoa Asiama

From the series Thank You For Playing With Me

2019

Judges’ comments:

Alys Tomlinson (b.1975)

Samuel

From the series Lost Summer

July 2020

Judges’ comments:

Phillip Walter Wellman (b.1983)

Taliban Prisoner

May 2020

Phillip Walter Wellman (b.1983)

Taliban Prisoner

May 2020

Rongguo Gao (b.1984)

Mother and Child

March 2019

Charlie Clift (b.1987)

Rebekah the food bank manager

From the series Food Banks

May 2020

During the coronavirus lockdown, British photographer Charlie Clift volunteered at local food banks and witnessed a surge in demand for basic supplies, as these centres became a vital lifeline to thousands of people affected by the pandemic. Clift began a series of portraits documenting local heroes volunteering to support their community. A church in Streatham was transformed into a warehouse for the South London Food Bank, with a team of eighty volunteers overseen by manager Rebekah. Pictured at work, amongst the food and supplies being sorted and packed for delivery, Rebekah is bathed in beams of light from the church window, communicating the mood of positivity that Clift felt in the warehouse.

Charlie Clift undertook a BSc in Psychology at the University of Bristol. His photographic work is inspired by people’s personalities and stories. His project Tribute Ink was displayed at the National Army Museum, London and the National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire and 10 Years of Premier Skills was seen at the House of Commons and the British Council, London. Clift’s commercial clients include The Sunday Times Magazine, BAFTA, and GQ and his works has been seen in publications including Creative Review, the Guardian and the British Journal of Photography. His work has been seen in numerous group exhibitions was previously included in the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize in 2016 and 2017.

Erik Norrud (b.1969)

Hans

From the series The Divine

May 2019

Nordre Aasen is a specialist health centre in Oslo for children and young people with complex disabilities. Norwegian photographer Erik Norrud, now based in Oslo, works from a studio next door to the centre and observed the youngsters through his window, sparking a desire to create a portrait series that describes the beauty of these marginalised and often invisible youngsters with honesty and dignity, shining a light on each child’s individuality. Norrud invited the young people he saw to participate in creating the series and to attend his studio for portrait sittings. 23-year-old Hans was photographed using a large format analogue camera and studio lighting against a plain background, which strips away the aids he requires in his daily life. The young man’s expressive hands are pulled into sharp focus in this sensitive and emotive portrait.

Erik Norrud’s work focuses on people and storytelling. With a background in documentary photography, he uses his experience to create personal projects, commercial assignments and editorial commissions. His work has been seen in exhibitions in the UK and Norway and was nominated for the World Press Photo Global Talent Award, 2019. His series, Paralympic Athletes, won several printed media awards in Norway including the Best of Scandinavian News Design (SNDS), 2017. His editorial work has also been seen in a wide variety of Norwegian publications and in the Observer New Review.

Matthew Thorne (b.1993)

Derik Lynch Dancing in Drag on Inmar Ground in Pastel (Aputula, Central Australia)

From the series The Australians

October 2019

Derik Lynch is a Yankunytjatara man whose land is the remote north west of South Australia, also known as the APY lands. An initiated indigenous man, he is an openly queer artist, performer and dancer. Having started singing and dancing aged five, Lynch appeared in the acclaimed theatre production Namatjira and travelled with the play for its presentation at the Southbank Centre in London. The image was taken by Thorne during the making of Dipped in Black a film and photographic project undertaken as a collaboration with Lynch exploring his childhood growing up in the Central Desert of Australia in dream and memory. Thorne explains that part of its significance: ‘This photo was taken as Derik danced drag on sacred Inmar ground for his mob, the first time this has been done to our knowledge in 65,000yrs+ of indigenous history’.

Ana Cuba (b.1989)

Stormzy

December 2019

Ana Cuba undertook a BA in Audiovisual Communication at the Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona followed by an MA in Art Direction at the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne. Her work has been seen in numerous international publications including the New York Times, Wallpaper, Monocle Magazine and Vanity Fair Spain. Cuba has also been engaged by commercial and fashion houses including Rapha, Stella McCartney and Apple.

Erik Norrud (b.1969)

Hans

From the series The Divine

May 2019

Rongguo Gao (b.1984)

Mother and Child

March 2019

Jack Smethers (b.1996)

Jaiden

From the series White Hart Lane

April 2019

Gideon Mendel (b.1959)

Uncle Noel Butler and Trish Butler at their Burnt Home, Nura Gunyu, near Milton, New South Wales

From the series Burning World; Australia

February 2020

Noel Butler, a Budawang Elder from the Yuin Nation is a teacher, chef, historian and horticulturalist who, with his wife Trish run Nura Gunyu an indigenous education centre in the costal region of Ulladulla in New South Wales. Mendel photographed the couple at their fire ravaged property during the ‘Black Summer’, the period from October 2019 to early 2020 when intense and devastating bush fires spread across much of Australia. The Butlers stand in the blackened remains of their home, while beyond, we see evidence of the green shoots of nature returning after the fire. Mendel was determined to not depict his subjects as victims. He was inspired by the strength and perspective of the couple recalling ‘they were deeply concerned with the damage done by the fire…their most immediate priority was the planting of hundreds of native plants to feed and encourage wildlife back’.

Gideon Mendel undertook a BA degree at the University of Cape Town. His photographs have been seen in numerous solo exhibitions worldwide and his series Drowning World and Fires in Australia was published in newspapers and magazines including National Geographical, the Guardian Weekend, Musée magazine and Elle. Mendel has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society 2020, and won first prize at the World Press Photo 1998 for the General News Stories and Nature Stories categories.

Matthew Thorne (b.1993)

Six faces playing outside the house (Aputula, Central Australia)

From the series The Australians

October 2019

This image was made while Thorne was working with collaborator Derik Lynch on a film and photographic project Dipped in Black, exploring Lynch’s childhood and personal journey as an initiated Yankunytjatara man, an artist, performer and dancer who is openly gay. It is a portrait of Lynch’s extended family made outside their home in the Central Desert of Australia. Thorne describes it as ‘close and empathetic, a photo that humanises without relying on trauma. It is intimate and as any family might be photographed’. The photo is part of a series that Thorne has been working on for several years in different communities across Australia and hopes to publish as a book in the vein of Robert Frank’s The Americans.

Matthew Thorne is an Australian film director and photographer whose work is focused around the relationship between time, community, land, and spirituality. He describes his work as examining ‘the “curse” of Australia; how the colonial history has irrevocably interceded in the creation of a “good” nation’. His work is held in the collections of the National Library of Australia, National Museum of Australia, and the Art Gallery of South Australia. His films and photography have been nominated and awarded at the Australian Photography Awards, the Cannes Lions and the Berlin Music Video Awards.

Georgie Wileman (b. 1988)

Jaxxon and his Father, Bruno

From the series Boys Do Cry

September 2019

In his bedroom in Queens, New York, Jaxxon rests a hand on the urn of his father, Bruno, who after the death of his wife took his own life, leaving Jaxxon to raise his younger brother and transition into a trans man without the support of his parents. The grey blue tone of the image invokes a feeling of melancholy and conveys Jaxxon’s vulnerability. A tattoo on his forearm reads ‘Boys do cry’, a message that Brooklyn-based British photographer Georgie Wileman used as the title for a series of portraits addressing male suicide, grief and depression. In the United States, suicide is the largest killer of men under the age of forty-five, with men less inclined to discuss mental health issues or seek professional help. Wileman photographed ten sitters over tea in their own homes, to illustrate their stories in a place of understanding, honesty and safety. Wileman also invited each man to write a short text to express his feelings; Jaxxon wrote of his father: ‘He chose to end; I choose to continue for him’.

Georgie Wileman is a largely self-taught photographer whose work has been seen in publications including Dazed&Confused, i-D online and TANK online. She has been selected for inclusion in the Let’s Face It Portraiture Award 2011 and Girl Gaze at the Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles 2016. She was previously selected for inclusion in the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize in 2017.

Matthew Thorne (b.1993)

Six faces playing outside the house (Aputula, Central Australia)

From the series The Australians

October 2019

Matthew Thorne is an Australian film director and photographer whose work is focused around the relationship between time, community, land, and spirituality. He describes his work as examining ‘the “curse” of Australia; how the colonial history has irrevocably interceded in the creation of a “good” nation’. His work is held in the collections of the National Library of Australia, National Museum of Australia, and the Art Gallery of South Australia. His films and photography have been nominated and awarded at the Australian Photography Awards, the Cannes Lions and the Berlin Music Video Awards.

Gideon Mendel (b.1959)

Pam Sweeny at her burnt home in Cobargo, New South Wales

From the series Burning World; Australia

January 2020

Pam Sweeny is a nurse who lives in the Cobargo, a small town in the Bega Valley shire of New South Wales in Australia close to the South Coast. On New Years' Eve 2019, a bushfire created its own weather system where dry lightning, intense heat, and strong winds caused an unprecedented and unstoppable firestorm that devastated the village and surrounding areas. The main street and many houses were destroyed and a father and son lost their lives. South African photographer Gideon Mendel had travelled to Australia to explore the aftermath of the ‘Black Summer’, the period from October 2019 to early 2020 when intense and devastating bush fires spread across much of the continent. He met Sweeny at her tent in the carpark of the local pub which was her temporary accommodation. Mendel photographed his subject in front of her destroyed home. Reflecting on the catastrophe Sweeny told him: ‘What we’ve done to Australia in the years that we’ve been here, us white-fellas, we’ve got to learn – we’ve done too much damage and mother nature’s hitting back’.

Jack Smethers (b.1996)

Jaiden

From the series White Hart Lane

April 2019

In the ongoing series White Hart Lane, British photographer Jack Smethers returned to Tottenham, the north London district where he spent his childhood years. His aim was to address the evolution of one of Britain’s most diverse communities following the 2011 Tottenham riots and the area’s gentrification after the redevelopment of the Tottenham Hotspur football stadium.

Jack Smethers undertook an FdA Photography and a BA (Hons) in Visual Arts Practice at the University of Brighton. His work explores the impact of extraordinary people among communities and subcultures who would otherwise go unnoticed. His work has been included in exhibitions at the Brighton Photo Fringe Festival and has been seen in group exhibitions in Torquay and Manchester. Smethers’s photographs have been published in the Tottenham Community Press and his commercial clients have included the Fawcett Society and the British and Irish Modern Music Institute.

Gideon Mendel (b.1959)

Pam Sweeny at her burnt home in Cobargo, New South Wales

From the series Burning World; Australia

January 2020

Gideon Mendel undertook a BA degree at the University of Cape Town. His photographs have been seen in numerous solo exhibitions worldwide and his series Drowning World and Fires in Australia was published in newspapers and magazines including National Geographical, the Guardian Weekend, Musée magazine and Elle. Mendel has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society 2020, and won first prize at the World Press Photo 1998 for the General News Stories and Nature Stories categories.

Gideon Mendel (b.1959)

Uncle Noel Butler and Trish Butler at their Burnt Home, Nura Gunyu, near Milton, New South Wales

From the series Burning World; Australia

February 2020

Georgie Wileman (b. 1988)

Jaxxon and his Father, Bruno

From the series Boys Do Cry

September 2019

Ana Cuba (b.1989)

Stormzy

December 2019

Ana Cuba undertook a BA in Audiovisual Communication at the Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona followed by an MA in Art Direction at the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne. Her work has been seen in numerous international publications including the New York Times, Wallpaper, Monocle Magazine and Vanity Fair Spain. Cuba has also been engaged by commercial and fashion houses including Rapha, Stella McCartney and Apple.

Charlie Clift (b.1987)

Rebekah the food bank manager

From the series Food Banks

May 2020