Prix Pictet Announces 2012 Shortlist

July 5, 2012 | Zoltan Arva-Toth | Competitions | Comment |

A shortlist of twelve outstanding international photographers, from which one will be selected later this year to receive the Prix Pictet, the world’s photography prize for environmental sustainability, was announced yesterday. The twelve artists will now prepare their work for the finalists’ exhibition to be held at the Saatchi Gallery in London in October. The twelve photographers are Robert Adams, Daniel Beltrá, Mohamed Bourouissa, Philippe Chancel, Edmund Clark, Carl De Keyzer, Luc Delahaye, Rena Effendi, An-My Lê, Joel Sternfeld and Guy Tillim. The winner of the fourth Prix Pictet will be announced by Kofi Annan, Honorary President of the Prix Pictet, on Tuesday 9th October.

Press Release

PRIX PICTET SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED

TWELVE PHOTOGRAPHERS FROM FOUR CONTINENTS ON PRIX PICTET ‘POWER’ SHORTLIST

Arles, 4 July 2012 – The names of the twelve photographers, whose outstanding portfolios on the theme of Power have been shortlisted for the fourth Prix Pictet, were announced this evening in the opening week of the global photography festival, Les Rencontres d’Arles.

The twelve artists shortlisted for the fourth cycle of the Prix Pictet, the world’s leading prize in photography and sustainability, will now prepare their work for the finalists’ exhibition to be held at the Saatchi Gallery in London in October. The exhibition will run from 10 – 28 October 2012.

The Shortlist is drawn from ten countries on four continents: Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, France, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

They are:

Robert Adams (United States, 1937)
Nominated for series: Turning Back, 1999

Daniel Beltrá (Spain/United States, 1964)
Nominated for series: Spill, 2010

Mohamed Bourouissa (Algeria/France, 1978)
Nominated for series: Périphérique, 2006

Philippe Chancel (France, 1959)
Nominated for series: Fukushima: The Irresistible Power of Nature, 2011

Edmund Clark (UK, 1963)
Nominated for series: Guantanamo: If the Light Goes Out, 2009

Carl De Keyzer (Belgium, 1958)
Nominated for series: Moments Before the Flood, 2009-2011

Luc Delahaye (France, 1962)
Nominated for various works: 2008-2011

Rena Effendi (Azerbaijan, 1977)
Nominated for series: Still Life in the Zone, 2010

Jacqueline Hassink (Netherlands, 1966)
Nominated for series: Arab Domains, 2005-2006

An-My Lê (United States/Vietnam, 1961)
Nominated for series: 29 Palms, 2003-2004

Joel Sternfeld (United States, 1944)
Nominated for series: When It Changed, 2007

Guy Tillim (South Africa, 1962)
Nominated for series: Congo Democratic, 1997-2006

The winner of the fourth Prix Pictet will be announced by Kofi Annan, Honorary President of the Prix Pictet, on Tuesday 9 October, at the opening of the finalists exhibition of the shortlisted works at the Saatchi Gallery in London.

The mandate of the Prix Pictet is to use the power of photography to raise public awareness worldwide to the social and environmental challenges of the new millennium. Launched in 2008 by the Geneva-based private bank Pictet & Cie, the Prix Pictet has rapidly established itself as one of the world’s leading photography prizes.

The Prix Pictet has two elements: a prize of CHF 100,000 awarded to the photographer who, in the opinion of the independent jury, has produced a series of work that addresses most powerfully the theme of the award; and the Commission, awarded by the Partners of Pictet & Cie, in which a nominated photographer is invited to undertake a field trip to a region where the Bank is supporting a sustainability project.

Each year the award is centred on a distinct theme. The fourth theme of the Prix Pictet is Power, a theme with enormous breadth, embracing contradiction and paradox in equal measure that has uncovered images and issues that are both awe-inspiring and disturbing.

Professor Sir David King, Chairman of the Prix Pictet Jury, commenting on the Shortlist, said today:

First, I would like to congratulate all the shortlisted artists. But I would also like to thank all of the nominated artists who submitted their work for this cycle of the Prix Pictet. The quality of the material under review made the judging process an immensely challenging but richly rewarding experience. It is a measure of the volume and variety of first-rate photography offered to our judges that we took a considerable time to arrive at the shortlist. Inevitably there are a great many images and compelling sustainability stories that we have not been able to include on the shortlist. When the overall quality of the submissions is considered, the achievement of the twelve shortlisted artists is all the more remarkable.’


Photo: Le Reflet by Mohamed Bourouissa, Prix Pictet Ltd

Your Comments

Loading comments…