Thomas Demand, Roe Ethridge, Jim Goldberg and Elad Lassry are the four photographers nominated for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2011. Presenting three-dimensional paper landscapes, a staged Thanksgiving dinner, the hands of two detained
Who? Thomas Demand, Roe Ethridge, Jim Goldberg and Elad Lassry are the four photographers nominated for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2011. Presenting three-dimensional paper landscapes, a staged Thanksgiving dinner, the hands of two detained Afghani refugees and a surrealist display of lipsticks, this year's selection is rich in its diversity, ranging from the conceptual to the political.
What? Set up in 1996 by The Photographers' Gallery, the prestigious Prize aims to award a contemporary photographer of any nationality who has made significant contribution to the medium of photography in the past year. The winner will be announced on 26 April 2011.
Why? The shortlist this year is particularly standout, each photographer possessing a distinct aesthetic. German-born Thomas Demand, known for photographing his meticulously constructed three-dimensional, life-size paper models, is nominated for his exhibition at Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. This body of work explores German social and political public life since 1945, ranging from the interior of the Bonn parliament of the late 1960s to the artist’s child’s room. Also inspired by his homeland, American-born Roe Ethridge has a conceptual approach to photography. Often borrowing 'outtakes' from his own commercial work, creating a new sense of America – alongside the 'perfect' girl dressed in a lemon knit at her Thanksgiving lunch is a pumpkin still-life and a pastoral scene of cows grazing. Fellow American Jim Goldberg has carved a niche for creating poignant, heartfelt experimental photo collages of sub-cultures accompanied by hand-written text. He is nominated for his body of work documenting the lives of refugee, immigrant and trafficked populations from places such as Iraq, Bangladesh, China and The Balkans. Tel Aviv-born Elad Lassry's photographic and film work is more detached, including over-saturated and collaged images of a kitten, a smiling face, lipsticks and a carton of eggs. Strangely peculiar but utterly seductive.
The Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2011 is on display at Ambika P3 at the University of Westminster, London until 1 May 2011.
Text by Laura Bradley
