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List of Finalist, Shortlist & Grant Recipient: Sony World Photography Awards 2020

Now in its 13th year, the free-to-enter Awards are a global voice for photography and provide a vital insight into contemporary photography today.

Sony World Photography Award 2020 announced shortlist grant and finalist recipient. Music Press Asia.

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, the internationally acclaimed Sony World Photography Awards is one of the most important fixtures in the global photographic calendar.

Now in its 13th year, the free-to-enter Awards are a global voice for photography and provide a vital insight into contemporary photography today. For both established and emerging artists, the Awards offer world-class opportunities for exposure of their work.

Sony World Photography Awards 2020 finalist photographers and projects are:
ARCHITECTURE
Forms and textures are the focus of abstract photographs by José De Rocco (Argentina), featuring vibrant building exteriors in Formalisms, as well as Jonathan Walland’s (UK) Structures; a minimalist black & white series depicting modern constructions. Sandra Herber’s (Canada) Ice Fishing, Lake Winnipeg presents whimsical images of the colourful ice fishing huts that dot the frozen surface of the lake in winter.

Finalists:
Sandra Herber, Canada
José De Rocco, Argentina
Jonathan Walland, England
Shortlist:
Swen Bernitz, Germany
Liang Chen, China Mainland
Jeoffrey Guillemard, France
Marcin Płonka, Poland
Maria Burasovskaya, Russian Federation
Laurin Schmid, Germany
Alexander Tatarenko, Russian Federation

CREATIVE
In Seeds of Resistance, Pablo Albarenga (Uruguay) pairs pictures of landscapes and territories in danger from mining and agribusinesses with portraits of the activists fighting to conserve them. Using shots of social media posts, chats and Skype or WhatsApp calls, Kill Me With an Overdose of Kindnessby Dione Roach (Italy) examines the way in which relationships and intimacy are lived and expressed online. Witness Objects by Luke Watson (UK) comprises images of pinhole cameras made using historical objects from the Bosnian War alongside photographs taken with these makeshift cameras of meaningful locations around Sarajevo.

Finalists:
Pablo Albarenga, Uruguay
Dione Roach, Italy
Luke Watson, UK
Shortlist:
Michel Le Belhomme, France
Nicoletta Cerasomma, Italy
Joseph Ford, United Kingdom
Ritsuko Matsushita, Japan
Serge Varaxin, Russian Federation
Reuben Wu, UK

Five Degrees’ by Federico Borella won Photographer of the Year at Sony World Photography Awards 2019 — a project exploring the link between climate change and mental health in the drought-hit region of Tamil Nadu, India.

DISCOVERY
In Invisible Wounds, Hugh Kinsella Cunningham (UK) stains his images in red to communicate the suffering and distress caused by a viral Ebola outbreak in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo while in The Cave, Maria Kokunova (Russia) uses symbolism and allegory to examine personal trauma. Cast Out of Heaven by Hashem Shakeri (Iran) looks at the lives of those forced to leave Tehran due to the economic downturn and move into inadequate state-funded housing projects.

Finalists:
Hugh Kinsella Cunningham, UK
Maria Kokunova, Russian Federation
Hashem Shakeri, Iran
Shortlist:
Diogo Baptista, Portugal
Emmanuelle Firman, France
Adrian Francis, USA
Massimo Gurrieri, Italy
Thomas Hänisch, Germany
Edward Kaprov, Israel
Murat Yazar, Turkey

ENVIRONMENT
Wahala by Robin Hinsch (Germany) documents the devastating effects of continued oil spillage and natural gas flaring along the Niger delta river. In Atlas from the Edge, Álvaro Laiz (Spain) explores the concept of ‘natural symmetry’ as practiced by the indigenous group, the Chukchi, whose traditional lifestyle evolved according to their mode of subsistence. In The Future of Farming, Luca Locatelli (Italy), portrays high tech agrofarming systems from around the world, a possible solution to future food shortages.

Finalists:
Robin Hinsch, Germany
Álvaro Laiz, Spain
Luca Locatelli, Italy
Shortlist:
Jenny Evans, Australia
Marco Garofalo, Italy
Eddo Hartmann, Netherlands
Maximilian Mann, Germany
Pierpaolo Mittica, Italy
Carolina Rapezzi, Italy
Kristof Vrancken, Belgium

Finalist, Wahala by Robin Hinsch: “The Nigerian department of petroleum resources estimates that 1.89 million barrels were spilled in to the Niger Delta between 1976 and 1996.”

DOCUMENTARY
Didier Bizet’s (France) series Baby Boom examines the reborn phenomena, a lifelike baby doll collected by enthusiasts and used by adoptive parents in preparation and by elderly patients in need of companionship. Poignant portraits of Hongkongers injured during the protests are the focus of Chung Ming Ko’s (Hong Kong) project Wounds of Hong Kong, whereas Zhang Youqiong’s (China) From ‘Made in China’ to ‘Made in Africa’ documents workers in the Chinese funded venture, the Ethiopian Oriental Industrial Park, a key enterprise in China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ in Africa.

Finalists:
Didier Bizet, France
Chung Ming Ko, Hong Kong
Youqiong Zhang, China Mainland
Shortlist:
David Butow, USA
Nicholas Moir, Australia
Patrick Wack, France
Eddy van Wessel, Netherlands
Ian Willms, Canada

LANDSCAPE
Torii by Haggard Benhert (Germany) features photographs of Buddhist and Shinto temples across Japan, while New Home by Chang Kyun Kim (Korea), comprises photographs of Japanese Internment Camps in which thousands of US citizens and residents of Japanese ancestry were imprisoned during the Second World War. Project 596 by Florian Ruiz (France) depicts the barren landscape of Lop Nor, a former salt lake in China previously used as a nuclear weapons test site.

Finalists:
Ronny Behnert, Germany
Chang Kyun Kim, South Korea
Florian Ruiz, France
Shortlist:
Mauro Battistelli, Italy
Jeroen van Dam, Netherlands
Andrius Grigalaitis, Lithuania
Sybren Vanoverberghe, Belgium
Peixia Xie, China Mainland

NATURAL WORLD & WILDLIFE
Masahiro Hiroike (Japan) captures the enchanting lights emitted by fireflies in the forests of Tottori, Japan in Himebotaru and in Macro, Adalbert Mojrzisch (Germany) uses macro lens technique to provide a closeup view of the intricate colours and patterns of insect and amphibian eyes. Pangolins in Crisis by Brent Striton (South Africa) looks at the illegal trade and rescue efforts of pangolins, the world’s most illegally trafficked mammals.

Finalists:
Masahiro Hiroike, Japan
Adalbert Mojrzisch, Germany
Brent Stirton, South Africa
Shortlist:
Pierre Anquet, France
Songda Cai, China Mainland
Marko Dimitrijevic, Switzerland
Tobias Friedrich, Germany
Joan de la Malla, Spain
Yevhen Samuchenko, Ukraine

PORTRAITURE
In Passengers, Cesar Dezfuli (Spain) juxtaposes striking portraits of migrants taken in 2016 as they first arrived on European shores with more recent images that better convey their personalities and the transformation they’ve experienced. Unsung Heroes by Denis Rouvre (France) presents the portraits and harrowing tales of women who have been victims of violence and in Ukrainian Railroad Ladies, Sasha Maslov (Ukraine) portrays the women who work as train station guards and explores their social role as a symbol of continuity in a country torn by war and political upheavals.

Finalists:
Cesar Dezfuli, Spain
Sasha Maslov, Ukraine
Denis Rouvre, France
Shortlist:
Richard Ansett, United Kingdom
Raul Ariano, Italy
Jon Enoch, UK
Adam Ferguson, Australia
Adrián Markis, Argentina
Magdalena Stengel, Germany
Tomáš Vrana, Czech Republic

STILL LIFE
Disassembled Memory is a catalogue of photographs depicting the disassembled parts of Fangbin Chen’s (China) childhood bicycle in an attempt to recall and preserve his memories from that time, while in Plexus, Elena Helfrecht (Germany) delves into her family’s archive to examine the effects of inherited trauma and collective memory. In IMMORTALITY, INC. Alessandro Gandolfi (Italy) goes into research labs and institutions to document the processes and objects which represent modern science’s advancements in its pursuit to overcome death.

Finalists:
Alessandro Gandolfi, Italy
Elena Helfrecht, Germany
Fangbin Chen, China Mainland
Shortlist:
Sabina Candusso, Italy
Emilia Cocking, United Kingdom
Sandrine Dippa, France
Paul Fuentes, Mexico
Molly Percy, United Kingdom
Yelena Strokin, Russian Federation
Cecilia Manzanares Vargas, Mexico

SPORT
Wrestling has become the number one sport in Senegal and is also a means of social ascendance steeped in tradition and ritual, in Senegalese Wrestlers, Angel Lopez Soto (Spain) explores these practices through images of young wrestles in training, whereas Dives by Andrea Staccioli (Italy) presents poetic portraits of athletes in mid-dive at the Gwangju Diving World Championships. Lucas Barioulet’s(France), The Long and Difficult Path of the Mauritanian National Women’s Football Team looks at the challenges and cultural tensions faced by the female players in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

Finalists:
Lucas Barioulet, France
José López Soto, Spain
Andrea Staccioli, Italy
Shortlist:
Giuliano Berti, Italy
Anton Dotsenko, USA
Frédéric Duhayer, France
Mikhail Kapychka, Belarus
Sarah Sasani, Iran
Federico Tardito, Italy

The Awards additionally recognise the world’s most influential artists working in the medium through the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Awards; previous recipients include Martin Parr, William Eggleston and Nadav Kander.

The works of winning and shortlisted photographers are showcased at a prestigious annual exhibition at Somerset House, London.

The World Photography Organisation hosts a year-round portfolio of events including the Sony World Photography Awards, one of the world’s leading photography competitions, and PHOTOFAIRS, leading international art fairs dedicated to photography.

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