Four artists have been shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize. Pieter Hugo (b.1976, South Africa) is nominated for his publication Permanent Error, published by Prestel (Germany, 2011). Permanent Error centres on a vast dumping ground for technological waste on the outskirts of Ghana’s capital city. Rinko Kawauchi (b.1972, Japan) is nominated for her publication Illuminance, published by Editions Xavier Barral (France, 2011). Illuminance spans fifteen years of her practice and results from both personal projects and commissioned work. John Stezaker (b.1949, UK) is nominated for his exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK (29 January – 18 March 2011), while Christopher Williams (b. 1956, USA) is nominated for his exhibition Kapitalistischer Realismus at Dum umení Ceské Budejovice, Budweis, Czech Republic (5 May - 12 June 2011). The winner will be announced at a special ceremony at The Photographers’ Gallery on 3 September 2012.

Press Release

Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2012 Further Details Announced

Exhibition Dates: 13 July - 9 September 2012
Award Announcement: 3 September 2012

The four artists shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2012 are Pieter Hugo, Rinko Kawauchi, John Stezaker and Christopher Williams. The winner will be announced at a special ceremony at The Photographers’ Gallery on 3 September 2012. Works by the shortlisted photographers will be shown in an exhibition at The Photographers’ Gallery from 13 July until 9 September 2012, followed by presentations at the Deutsche Börse headquarters in Frankfurt from 14 September until 25 October 2012, and at C/O Berlin, Forum for visual dialogues from 3 November until 13 January 2013.

This year’s selection showcases a diversity of subject matter and photographic approaches, ranging from documentary photography and the everyday to the recontextualisation of found images and the conceptual.

The Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2012 is presented by The Photographers’ Gallery, London. The annual award of £30,000 rewards a living photographer, of any nationality, for a specific body of work in an exhibition or publication format, which has significantly contributed to photography in Europe between 1 October 2010 and 30 September 2011.

The four shortlisted artists have been nominated for the following projects: Pieter Hugo (b.1976, South Africa) is nominated for his publication Permanent Error, published by Prestel (Germany, 2011). Permanent Error centres on a vast dumping ground for technological waste on the outskirts of Ghana’s capital city. Focusing on the young slum-dwellers who are burning discarded industrial rubbish to survive, Hugo’s stark photographs of this bleak landscape expose the consequences of the West’s consumption and disposal of ever-new technology.

Rinko Kawauchi (b.1972, Japan) is nominated for her publication Illuminance, published by Editions Xavier Barral (France, 2011). Hailed for her ability to turn the mundane into the extraordinary and poetic, Kawauchi’s work explores themes of life, death and the everyday. Using a soft palette of colours with masterful composition and editing, her carefully sequenced images evoke moments of dreams, memory and temporality. Illuminance spans fifteen years of her practice and results from both personal projects and commissioned work.

John Stezaker (b.1949, UK) is nominated for his exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK (29 January – 18 March 2011). Stezaker’s collages examine our multifaceted relationship to the image. Through his juxtapositions of found photographs, illustrations and stills taken from books, magazines, vintage postcards and classic movies, Stezaker adopts the content and contexts of the original images to create new and poignant meanings.

Christopher Williams (b. 1956, USA) is nominated for his exhibition Kapitalistischer Realismus at Dum umení Ceské Budejovice, Budweis, Czech Republic (5 May - 12 June 2011). As much conceptual artist as photographer, Williams has been creating images of camera and technical apparatus, models, vehicles and products for the last forty years. Alluding to, and borrowing from, the world of advertising he continuously questions our understanding of reality as reflected and communicated to us through photography.

The members of the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2012 jury are: François Hébel, Director, Les Rencontres d’Arles; Martin Parr, artist; Beatrix Ruf, Director/Curator, Kunsthalle Zürich and Anne-Marie Beckmann, Curator, Art Collection Deutsche Börse, Germany. Brett Rogers, Director of The Photographers’ Gallery, is the non-voting Chair.

Brett Rogers, Director of The Photographers’ Gallery and Chair of the Jury said: Each finalist addresses in a timely way issues of critical importance within contemporary photography. Operating between portraiture and social documentary, Pieter Hugo confronts us with the unsettling reality of the impact of e-waste in Ghana; Rinko Kawauchi brings her highly personal sensibility to bear on fragments of everyday life; John Stezaker demonstrates a rigorous exploration of the subversive force of the found image; and finally, alluding to the language of commercial photography, Christopher Williams continuously questions the aesthetic conventions and communication tools that influence our perception of reality.

Julia Taeschner, Head of Corporate Responsibility for Deutsche Börse said: We are delighted about the excellent selection for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2012 shortlist by the esteemed international jury. The four artists reflect what this prize is all about: to acknowledge and showcase some of the most interesting contributions to contemporary photography in 2011. We look forward to presenting the exhibition in our headquarters in the Rhine/Main region later this year to the German audience.

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