Tamany Baker, Untitled, from the series Living With Wolfie. Picture courtesy the artist
Preview: The 2009 Sony World Photography Awards, Cannes, France, April 16 2009
“I was in Nantes, doing a residency for the Nantes Art Biennial in June,” replies Edgar Martins, upon being asked where he was when he found out he’d been shortlisted for the Sony World Photography Awards.
“In actual fact, I was busy driving a lorry. For my up-and-coming body of work I hired a large lorry with a crane in order to produce a series of images of specific industrial sites. I was thrilled to receive the news – it is always very rewarding when one's work is appreciated and valued.”
Starlings Above (2009). Picture © Yannick Dixon
Chosen from more than 60,000 entries worldwide, Martins was one of dozens of prodigious UK photographers among the 186 snappers shortlisted for the prestigious annual gong, finishing second in the Landscape section.
His late-night shots of Portuguese beaches, shot over two years, are “all about temporal experience – there is a kind of theatricality to them, a sense of observing an abandoned stage”, while The Accidental Theorist “resembles a set of location shots for unmade films from lost scenarios.”
“I am often drawn to spaces where I can prioritise poetic memory over concrete topographies,” he explains.
“I am interested in recording the world's performance of itself as a set of processes and facts, and the only way to achieve this is to slow down time. That is why I often use long-exposures and, in some ways, why I use my photographic camera like a video camera.”
Starlings Above (2009). Picture © Yannick Dixon
From Lisbon to Lancashire, Yannick Dixon’s surveillance of coastal nature is no less gripping, coming third in the Natural History heat.
The 24-year-old has embarked on a project considering the “unimagined space” of Blackpool, and his first glimpse of the flocks of starlings he pictures left him captivated.
“It was during a cold February morning in 2006 on Blackpool promenade and there wasn’t another soul to be seen. I was walking past the North Pier when I saw a huge swarm of starlings feeding on the beach,” he says, sounding slightly romantic about his “often unpredictable” subjects.
Tamany Baker, Untitled, from the series Living With Wolfie. Picture courtesy the artist
“After a minute or so the starlings all took off, creating what can only be described as a giant bubble. They made their way towards me on the shore, flying fast and low across the beach. The sound they made was simply incredible.
"Photographing natural subjects like starlings requires a great deal of patience and a little bit of luck as you never quite sure what they may do next. Each time I see starlings in Blackpool I always try to record a different aspect of their nature and form.”
Tamany Baker is more used to seeing birds dead. Her cat, Wolfie, regularly brings freshly-grizzled creatures to her doorstep, and her pictures record “my reaction to the initial shock of the dead animals deposited in different parts of my house.”
Musicemail, Amiran White. Picture courtesy the artist
Part documentary, part heartbreak, it makes for a morbid, beautiful and visually arresting winner of the Conceptual and Constructed category. Baker is one of 12 winners competing for the L’Iris D’Or at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes on April 16 2009.
“As the series progressed I became aware that the project was an examination of feelings of love and revulsion, as I saw parallels between Wolfie and my boyfriend at the time, who had been repeatedly unfaithful,” she reveals.
“The photographs became almost a cathartic way to come to terms with my mixed emotions and powerlessness.” Baker reckons the photos recall the Victorian tendency to commemorate loved ones with flowers and locks of human hair.
Starlings Above (2009). Picture © Yannick Dixon
“I am interested in photography’s fascination with the macabre,” she admits. “These images are not claiming to be an objective document of death and destruction, but instead I am documenting my collusion with the event and my titillation with the shocking habits of the other.”
Amiran White won the Music section for a stunning, lonely photo of a girl playing piano in a darkened room, shot at Shanti Bhavan in southern India.
Typifying her photojournalistic eye for capturing piercing glimpses of personal struggle, the image was part of an effort to document life at the struggling residential school for disadvantaged children.
Tamany Baker, Untitled, from the series Living With Wolfie. Picture courtesy the artist
“It's a great school, giving the children the best possible education – they are now dreaming of being scientists, astronomers, teachers and doctors and it really is possible for them assuming they keep studying and working hard,” she says.
“Before this school, their only choice would have been to go into construction, planting rice or cleaning houses.”
Surviving Dad, Amiran White. Picture courtesy the artist
Elsewhere, Robert Zhao was shortlisted for a series of images taken at the Museum at the Institute of Critical Zoology. “It came as a pleasant surprise to be chosen out of so many entries,” he says.
“Last year’s winning entries were impressive and to be shortlisted is a really great encouragement. It is a collection of animal souvenirs from around the world. What can reflect more on the current state of the natural world today then animals constantly being com-modified?”
Spirit Flyer, Amiran White. Picture courtesy the artist
Zhao’s measured joy at being involved is reflected by his fellow UK hopefuls. “I love making photographs so much and it is heartening to have affirmation that my vision is appreciated and understood by others,” says Baker.
“I recently gave a presentation to university students and spoke about having the courage to stick by your guns when your work does not appear to fit the mainstream. Several of the students stayed behind afterwards to say that my work and comments struck a chord with them.
“I hope that the shortlisting will encourage other photographers to find individual ways of expressing themselves and take the medium of photography forward in new directions.”
Smoking Boardwalk, Amiran White. Picture courtesy the artist
“Awards such as this one provide artists with a platform to showcase their work at an international level and so make their work accessible to a wider audience,” observes Martins.
“They add value to a wider international tour of artists work but also benefit a broader audience comprising galleries, museums, colleges, students art and photography lovers and enthusiasts and, of course, the general public.”
Baker and White have enjoyed plenty of attention since their wins, and are justifiably excited about the glamorous trip lying ahead.
Salsa in Paris, Amiran White. Picture courtesy the artist
“These are people who share the same passion for the photographic image as I do and it will be such an experience to meet them in Cannes,” enthuses Baker, who is philosophical about her chances.
“It has been a dream to come this far, so anything from here is a bonus. I have worked so hard for this, so I will definitely be enjoying the rewards.”
“To have my work hanging alongside some amazing photographers…it’s all pretty crazy, but quite brilliant,” adds White.
“I was pretty stunned to hear that I had been placed in the awards, let alone to discover I had won first place. I am really looking forward to meeting the other photographers and judges – I’ve been freelancing for the last year or so and it gets quite lonely out there.”
Mumbai Dump, Amiran White. Picture courtesy the artist
They’re equally chuffed back in India. “The girl in the photograph, Manjula, is thrilled that her photograph is being seen by so many people. The kids at the school have been used to seeing me wandering around with cameras, but haven't seen what I've been shooting.”
White will be showing them a slideshow of her work before being whisked off to France by competition organisers. “They’re flying me out to the ceremony, which is brilliant,” she adds. “Though goodness knows what one wears.”
