The Photographers’ Gallery

The Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2007

09 Feb - 09 Apr 2007

THE DEUTSCHE BÖRSE PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE 2007

The Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2007 will be awarded to a living photographer, of any nationality, who has made the most contribution to photography in Europe between 1 October 2005 ~ 30 September 2006. The four shortlisted photographers in this exhibition are: Philippe Chancel, Anders Petersen, Fiona Tan and The Atlas Group.

Philippe Chancel (b. 1959, France) nominated for the
exhibition DPRK, shown at the Arles Photography
Festival, France, 4 July - 17 September 2006.

Chancel has worked as a photographer for the last 30 years, investigating the shifting and complex terrain between art, documentary and journalism. Taken in North Korea in 2005, the crisp, colour photographs in DPRK provide a clinical and detached comment on the monumental, political narcissism that the country operates under. The exhibition features a selection of his large-scale photographs from DPRK in No 8.

David Crowley, historian and lecturer at the Royal
College of Art, has written an insightful essay to
accompany Chancel’s photographs in the exhibition
catalogue.

Anders Petersen (b. 1944, Sweden) nominated for
the exhibition About Gap and St Etienne, shown at the Arles Photography Festival, France, 4 July - 17 September 2006.

This series is the result of a residency in these southern French towns in 2005, and exudes a poetic sadness, restlessness and sense of urgency that is characteristic of all his photography. Petersen first became known for his seminal series Café Lehmitz (1978), a daily chronicle of a Hamburg coffee shop frequented by transvestites, prostitutes and harbour workers. Since then he has continued to explore the fringes of society with his camera. The exhibition features a selection from About Gap
and St Etienne in No 8.

Brian Dillon has contributed an illuminating and
engaging essay on Petersen’s oeuvre for the exhibition
catalogue.

Walid Raad (b. 1967, Lebanon) nominated for the
exhibition The Atlas Group Project at Hamburger
Bahnhof — Museum für Gegenwart in Berlin, Germany,
22 September 2006 - 7 January 2007.

The Atlas Group, a project undertaken by Walid Raad between 1989 and 2004, researched and documented the contemporary history of Lebanon. However, the authenticity of the photographic and video documents in this archive is continuously queried, leaving the viewer uncertain how history — in particular one marked by the trauma of civil war — can be told and visually represented. The exhibition includes a selection from We decided to let them say, “we are convinced,” twice,a series of large-scale photographs taken by Walid Raad in the summer of 1982 of the Israeli Army’s invasion and siege of Beirut. Walid Raad/The Atlas Group can be seen in No 5.

Alan Gilbert, an independent scholar and poet based
in New York City, has contributed a thought-provoking
essay on Raad’s work to the exhibition catalogue.

Fiona Tan (b. 1966, Indonesia) nominated for the
exhibition Mirror Maker shown at Landesgalerie in Linz, Austria, 1 June - 20 August 2006.

Combining photography and film, the exhibition Mirror Maker included past and recent projects dealing with portraiture and the nature of photography. Central to Fiona Tan’s work is the human subject. She questions and explores the complexities of culture and place, and how these elements come to shape our individual identity. The Prize exhibition features two of her most recent projects. Vox Populi (Sydney), displays images from over 90 photo albums by Sydney residents. In the video installation The Changeling (2006), a Japanese school girl stares out of her portrait while she recalls, as an older woman, her mother and grandmother. Both works can be seen in No 8.

Caoimhín Mac Giolla Léith, critic, curator and Senior
Lecturer at University College Dublin, has contributed
a perceptive essay on Fiona Tan’s work to the exhibition
catalogue.

The exhibition catalogue is available from the Bookshop at the special exhibition price £16.99
 

Tags: Philippe Chancel, Brian Dillon, Alan Gilbert, The Atlas Group, Anders Petersen, Walid Raad, Fiona Tan