Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2016

D 19088 F 9,90 â&#x201A;¬

4 192346 1 209905

15,00 $

WINNERS & FINALISTS 2016

I N T E R N AT I O N A L E D I T I O N

Leica

Oskar Barnack Award 2016

L E I C A F O T O G R A F I E I N T E R N AT I O N A L

P H OTO : S C A R L E T T C OT E N

M E C TO U B

Oska

ack Barn

t ca ’s firs

e or th era f

36 ×

24 m

fo film

, the rmat

‘Lilip

om ut ’ fr

1 91 4

– als

na know

-Leic s ‘Ur

a’

Special Edition Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2016 LFI PHOTOGRAPHIE GMBH Springeltwiete 4, 20095 Hamburg www.lfi-online.de, mail@lfi-online.de ISSN: 0937-3977 EdITORS-IN-cHIEF: Inas Fayed, Frank P. Lohstöter ART dIREcTION: Brigitte Schaller EdITORIAL OFFIcE: carla Susanne Erdmann, Bernd Luxa, david Rojkowski, Ulrich Rüter, Simon Schwarzer, Olaf Stefanus, Katrin Ullmann LAyOUT: Thorsten Kirchhoff PHOTO EdITOR: carol Körting TRANSLATION: Osanna Vaughn The magazine and all its written and pictorial content are copyrighted, and can not be reproduced without written permission. Leica – registered Trademark – 91865

Content

Preface Dear friends of photography,

What a pleasure it is to know that, for the first time in the history of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, the presentation ceremony will be held in Berlin! ‘Oskar is returning home’ – that’s the motto, because it was there, in the Brandenburg Mark, that Oskar Barnack was born in the 19th century. It is to honour him, the man whose invention so intensely influenced photography in the 20th century, that we have been granting this award for 37 years. I do believe that nowadays, with the flow of imagery we are subjected to, it is all the more necessary to show quality: humanistic photography centring around people! This is certainly in line with our motto: Leica – das Wesentliche (the essential)! The more than 3200 submissions speak for themselves, and the quality of the finalists underlines it: the LOBA is one of the most important photography competitions in the world! Join us in appreciating the different perspectives the photographers have of our multi-faceted world, in celebrating that ‘Oskar is returning home’, and in having the chance to get to see the essential: the art of photography! Yours, Andreas Kaufmann, LEICA Camera AG

126

Interview with Chris Boot

128

Scarlett Coten Mectoub

126

Max Pinckers Two Kinds of Memory and Memory Itself

134

Sadegh Souri Waiting Girls

142

Stéphane Lavoué The North East Kingdom

150

William Daniels CAR Crisis

158

Giulio Piscitelli Informal Facilities in the Jungle

166

Vincent Delbrouck New Paintings

174

Fulvio Bugani “Soul” y Sombras

182

Esther Teichmann Mondschwimmen

190

Guillaume Herbaut Ukraine: Maidan to Donbass

198

Juan Pablo Bellandi Chasing Hampa

106

Clémentine Schneidermann The Unbearable, the Sadness and the Rest

120

Winners & Finalists 2016

146

Winners 1980 – 2015 loba

| 5

“The Base Unit of Photography” Interview The winners of the 36th Leica Oskar Barnack Award have been chosen: Scarlett Coten and Clémentine Schneidermann. LFI spoke with jury member Chris Boot, Executive Director of the Aperture Foundation, about the jury’s decisions and about the meaning of reportage and series for photography.

Chris Boot, Member of the 2016 loba jury and Executive Director of the aperture Foundation

Further informationen about the award can be found at www.leica-oskar-barnack-preis.de

6 |

loba

3200 photographers from 108 countries submitted their work for this year’s Leica Oskar Barnack Award. This makes the 2016 competition the absolute record holder for number of participants! Just to compare: last year it was 1700 photographers from 88 countries. The fact that the number of submissions to the 36th edition of the award has nearly doubled, can in part be traced back to the attractive monetary prizes. Already last year, the first prize – which goes this year to the French photographer Scarlett Coten for her Mectoub series – was increased to 25 000 euros. This year the amount for the winner of the Newcomer Award has been increased to 10 000 euros, and it also goes to a French photographer: Clémentine Schneidermann is the recipient for her The Unbearable, the Sadness and the Rest series. In addition, both award-winners receive Leica M equipment with a value of 10 000 euros. 2016 is also the first year that the other competition finalists will be honoured with prize money amounting to 2500 euros each. This makes the monetary support allocated by the Leica Oskar Barnack Award competition one of the highest in the photographic field. At the same time, all the photographers presented in this special edition magazine can consider themselves winners! In 2016, the location for the award ceremony has also been changed: it will take place in Berlin within the framework of the European Month of Photography. During the festival, Leica will be presenting for the first time a large exhibition with the pictures series of all the winners and finalists from 29 September to 23 October at the Neue Schule für Fotografie Berlin.

LFI: Why did Scarlett Coten win this year’s LOBA? Chris Boot: The jury felt she was the most deserving winner. Scarlett’s portrait series on male identity in the Arabic-speaking world is a very strong project, not just photographically but conceptually too. I personally found it the most exciting series we saw. What were the reasons for Clémentine Schneidermann receiving the Newcomer Award for her portrait series from the South Wales Valleys? It was simply the best of the work, we felt, in the student category. She is a very exciting image-maker, and I trust we’ll see lots more of her work in the future. You were a LOBA jury member for the first time – what were you expecting from the LOBA? I expected to spend a thoroughly interesting day with interesting people, looking at and talking about good photography, and arguing a little (in a friendly way) about values in photography. And that’s exactly how it was! The LOBA always deals with series – how important do you find the series in comparison to the individual picture? It’s natural. The ‘series’ I would describe as the meaningful base unit of photography. You are engaged with an idea, and a point of view, and the execution of an idea over multiple frames, and, in this respect, considering the talents of the photographer. A single picture may be really strong or interesting, but it doesn’t really tell

you very much about the qualities of the photographer. What do you expect of contemporary reportage photography – was there anything in the LOBA that convinced you? I expect to discover new work and photographers to watch in future – which is exactly what I did with both Clémentine Schneidermann and Scarlett Coten. Nowadays there are many – important – discussions going on about reportage photography. Do we still need classic reportage today, or is the format obsolete? What is ‘classic reportage photography’? If by that you mean work born of both image-making talents, and a point of view that conjures or describes a world of its own, then

it’s as alive today as it was when Henri Cartier-Bresson went to China, or Walker Evans looked at poverty in America, in the 1950s. Of course what excites us today must take the language of photography somewhere new; if work looks like a copy of something that went before, even if it’s good, it’s inevitably less interesting.

Was the LOBA directive of ‘journalistic photography with humanistic pretensions’ fulfilled by the finalists and winners? We were less concerned with journalist characteristics, per se – even though we certainly learned something new from all the good entries we looked at – than with the photographers’ ideas, and sensitivities, and their ability to make strong photographs, one after another. I didn’t find myself asking “is this good journalism” or “does this photographer have a humanistic point of view” while considering the entries. All the entries had a humanistic point of view, in the broadest sense, and I wouldn’t say in any cases that the evidence of the photographer’s humanism was what distinguished the work. interview: inas fayed

The Jury (from the left): Chris boot, Karin rehn-Kaufmann (art director leica Galleries around the world), lorenza bravetta (Manager of Camera – Centro italiano per la fotografia), Christine ollier (Manager of the Galerie les filles du Calvaire in Paris), JH engström (loba winner in 2015)

loba

| 7

LEICA

oskar barnack award | 2016

Scarlett Coten Mectoub

8 |

loba

2016 leica oskar barnack award

10 |

loba

scarlett coten

loba

| 11

12 |

loba

| 13

2016 leica oskar barnack award

14 |

loba

scarlett coten

loba

| 15

16 |

loba

| 17

18 |

loba

| 19

2016 leica oskar barnack award

20 |

loba

scarlett coten

loba

| 21

22 |

loba

| 23

Scarlett Coten Interview Her series of portraits of Arab men amazes and confuses, because Scarlett Coten is playing with clichĂŠs and raises questions about identity, gender and society. In the interview she talks about the background and response to the series. More about the photographer on page 122

24 |

loba

LFI: How do you find your models and how do you convince them to be part of the project? Scarlett Coten: I find the meeting places, often in cafés where the youth of a town get together. I approach the men whose attitudes incarnate a spirit of freedom, those with whom I suspect there is a mutual willingness. I explain about my project to photograph them as they are, with their modernity. Knowing that they will be seen encourages them to take part in the experience. They believe that it’s important to show the world the battle they are waging to affirm their individuality within patriarchal societies, because, while they are not acknowledged in their own country, they may find some sort of consideration elsewhere. Do you work completely alone and how do you find the places? I work alone and I walk a lot! I look for places where I can isolate myself with my models, so that I can extract them from situations of social pressure, and be alone with them face to face. Only isolation can allow me to take these men as close to themselves as possible, so that they can let themselves go; it’s the condition necessary to achieve an unveiling. What has changed in the series over the past years? I began this project one year after the 2011 revolutions of the Arab Spring; we were still in a state of euphoria, hoping to make the desired changes. Since then, we know what has become of

those populist movements, especially in Egypt. Repression, wars, the arrival of masses of refugees have brought instability to the entire region. My images have evolved with this feeling. I now choose semi tones, and darker or more disturbing places, instead of the bright colours, the kitsch and pop décors of my first pictures taken in Morocco and Egypt in 2012/2013. My attention focuses more on sensitivity, on trying to get as close as possible to my subjects, these men, their authenticity, their feelings. How long do you work on one set? In the time between when I meet my protagonists and when I take the shots, I develop a real friendship with each of them. I am a foreigner, passing through, without roots and without belonging to their culture or religion. This position gives room for trust, the possibility to be true, to relate without taboos. The photographic act itself resembles a kind of performance, and I never know in advance what will come out of it, what will be born of this encounter. The portraits are always the result of a dialogue, of an ephemeral but deep tie between us. What I’m interested in is their complexity, their fragility, their sensuality. Do you think that your series also makes a feminist statement? Mectoub is a unique vision of the world, because the experience of women, their position in society – including as artists – differs from that of men. With this series, I position myself as a woman who looks at men, and, in doing so, I would like to invite the viewer to reconsider the supremacy of the masculine perspective throughout the history of art.

What are your hopes and wishes for the future, for your work and for Arab society? The future of Arab countries is very uncertain. I don’t think anyone knows what will come out of the current political situations in the region; nowadays, even we ourselves are faced with violence and uncertainty. I am worried about the evolution of today’s world and my thoughts turn to the younger generations, with the hope that they will be able to overcome this major crisis, at both the political and the environmental level. We need more solidarity, to come together around essential human values, empathy, sharing… As far as my work is concerned, I hope it can be shown more, collected, published, so that I have the means to be able to continue with that to which I have dedicated my entire life: to questioning, to dreaming and to making others dream. Do you shoot analogue or digital? Which cameras do you use? Up until 2012, I worked with silver based film, either with my Leica M6, or with plastic lomography cameras, such as the Holga and the Diana. Mectoub is my first digital work, and I used a Fuji XPro1. What plans and projects do you have for the future? I have just finished this series, which took me four years to complete in seven countries. My objective today is to create the concept, write, and gather the texts to finish this long-term journey with a book. The next project is still in its embryonic stages. interview: ulrich rüter

loba

| 25

2 016 Finalist

Max Pinckers Two Kinds of Memory and Memory Itself

26 |

loba

2016 Finalist

28 |

loba

Max Pinckers

loba

| 29

2016 Finalist

30 |

loba

Max Pinckers

loba

| 31

2016 Finalist

32 |

loba

Max Pinckers

34 |

loba

2 016 Finalist

Sadegh Souri Waiting Girls

loba

| 35

36 |

loba

2016 Finalist

sadegh souri

38 |

loba

40 |

loba

2016 Finalist

sadegh souri

2 016 Finalist

Stéphane Lavoué The North East Kingdom

42 |

loba

2016 Finalist

44 |

loba

stĂŠphane lavouĂŠ

loba

| 45

loba

| 47

2016 Finalist

48 |

loba

stĂŠphane lavouĂŠ

loba

| 49

2 016 Finalist

William Daniels CAR Crisis

50 |

loba

| 51

2016 Finalist

52 |

loba

William Daniels

loba

| 53

loba

| 55

2016 Finalist

56 |

loba

William Daniels

loba

| 57

2 016 Finalist

Giulio Piscitelli Informal Facilities in the Jungle

58 |

loba

| 59

loba

| 61

62 |

loba

| 65

2 016 Finalist

Vincent Delbrouck New Paintings

66 |

loba

68 |

loba

2016 Finalist

Vincent Delbrouck

loba

| 69

70 |

loba

| 71

2016 Finalist

72 |

loba

Vincent Delbrouck

loba

| 73

2 016 Finalist

Fulvio Bugani “Soul” y Sombras

74 |

loba

| 75

2016 Finalist

76 |

loba

Fulvio bugani

loba

| 77

2016 Finalist

78 |

loba

Fulvio bugani

loba

| 79

2016 Finalist

80 |

loba

Fulvio bugani

loba

| 81

2 016 Finalist

Esther Teichmann Mondschwimmen

82 |

loba

| 83

2016 Finalist

84 |

loba

EsthEr tEichmann

loba

| 85

2016 Finalist

86 |

loba

EsthEr tEichmann

2016 Finalist

88 |

loba

EsthEr tEichmann

loba

| 89

2 016 Finalist

Guillaume Herbaut Ukraine: Maidan to Donbass

90 |

loba

92 |

loba

| 93

94 |

loba

| 95

96 |

loba

2 016 Finalist

Juan Pablo Bellandi Chasing Hampa

98 |

loba

| 99

100 |

loba

2016 Finalist

Juan Pablo bellandi

loba

| 101

loba

| 103

2016 Finalist

104 |

loba

Juan Pablo bellandi

loba

| 105

LEICA

oskar barNack award | 2016 award Newcomer

ClĂŠmentine Schneidermann The Unbearable, the Sadness and the Rest

106 |

loba

108 |

loba

| 109

110 |

loba

| 111

112 |

loba

| 113

114 |

loba

| 115

116 |

loba

| 117

ClĂŠmentine Schneidermann Interview The winner of the Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award talks about the series she produced in Wales, The Unbearable, the Sadness and the Rest, about her experiences and her hopeful expectations. More about the photographer on page 144

118 |

loba

LFI: When did you start working on the series? Clémentine Schneidermann: I started my project with the people of the South Wales Valleys when I moved there in September 2015. I was familiar with the history and social situation of this area before living there, but I had never really had the opportunity to explore it. But in September, I was commissioned to start a three-month residency (which became ten) to document the area and the people living there. That’s how it started. Was it easy for you to connect with the people? It was difficult at first. Not many outsiders come to this area, especially with a camera. My assignment was to photograph people living on council estates, so you can imagine that it’s a sensitive place to be with a camera. I wasn’t comfortable at being in this situation and so I tried to find another way to integrate myself. After a few months of living there it became easier: I made friends and I started to understand the area. People also started to know me as ‘the French photographer taking pictures on the street’ so I wasn’t a stranger any more. Why did you concentrate on children for your series? Because it’s a difficult area, with high poverty, brutal architecture and, of course, the rain, I became interested in the children growing up in this environment and wanted to document what it’s like to grow up

there. I wanted to play with them, and show them something they are not familiar with: creativity. I didn’t only want to photograph them, but also to teach them things about photography, fashion, etc. How did you find the places and the families? Most of the children I photographed are part of the same Youth Club run by amazing volunteers. One of them was very helpful and supportive and mediated between me, the children and their parents. Without her, the project wouldn’t have been the same. It allowed me to gain the trust of the children and of their parents. How long did you work on one set? How many images did you photograph in one place? It really depended. We organized two ‘fashion shoots’ which both lasted a whole day. I shot around 15 rolls for each. I used my Mamiya 6 with 75mm lens. Did you work completely alone or did you have assistants or friends at your side? I usually work alone, but for this project I had great help from a fashion stylist called Charlotte James. She is also from the Valleys but has been living in London for a long time. She understands the place really well and knew how to interact with the children. We share the same visions and ideas, and I hope to be able to work with her in the future as well. My partner, Sebastian Bruno, who is also a photographer, also helped me during the fashion shoot by directing the lighting and preparing the sets. And lastly, the youth educator was also very supportive and introduced me to all the children.

Has the series been published previously, and how different have the responses been? So far, the series has been published as a supplement in a local newspaper called The Dynamic. It will be distributed next month in the region in shops, pubs, etc. It is important to me that the work is not only seen within the photography world but also by the people I photographed. We’re also going to do an exhibition. Do you think that your series is also a political statement? This area of Great Britain is often seen as one of the deprived places, and most of the images or documentaries coming out of there emphasize this aspect: drugs, alcohol, people on benefits, obesity, council estates, illness, etc. This is a reality, but, of course, there are other things. I didn’t feel comfortable showing that. It’s not fair for the people living there to always be shown as victims. I wanted to find beauty and try to show this area in a different way. I wasn’t interested in coming for a couple of days and then leaving – like most journalists do. What are your plans for the future and what project are you currently working on? I recently started a PhD in photography at the University of South Wales, which will be focused on communities and social commitment. I would like to build a long-term relationship with these children and start an ambitious project with them. I’m also looking for new and remote places in other countries. interview: ulrich rüter

loba

| 119

120 |

loba

122

Scarlett Coten

124

Max Pinckers

126

Sadegh Souri

128

Stéphane Lavoué

130

William Daniels

132

Giulio Piscitelli

134

Vincent Delbrouck

136

Fulvio Bugani

138

Esther Teichmann

140

Guillaume Herbaut

142

Juan Pablo Bellandi

144

Clémentine Schneidermann

1 Yahia, Tunis, Tunisia 2014

2 Hazem, Cairo, Egypt 2015

3 omar, beirut, lebanon 2015

4 abdel, Marrakesh, Morocco 2012

5 ahmad, Ramallah, Palestine 2014

6 Ismael, Tangier, Morocco 2012

7 Khalid, amman, Jordan 2016

8 Mohamed, alexandria, Egypt 2013

9 Yassine, Fez, Morocco 2012

10 Mohamed, amman, Jordan 2016

11 Sadek, oran, algeria 2014

1 2 Hamada, amman, Jordan 2016

122 |

loba

2 016 leica oskar barnack award

Scarlett Coten Mectoub The French photographer wins the 2016 Leica Oskar Barnack Award for her Mectoub series, which covers four years work. Scarlett Coten is well versed with the Arab world, which she has been exploring repeatedly in long-term photographic projects since graduating from the École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie in Arles.

The camera’s gender. Gazing directly into the cam-

era with appealing eyes, lascivious poses and attributes with feminine connotations: from the very first glance, the portraits of young Arab men convey an unusual viewpoint, which is precisely what the photographer intended. With a deliberately feminine approach, she has been carrying out her own personal projects in Arab countries for many years, resulting in new and surprising perspectives. Over a period of four years, Scarlett Coten (*1958) took photographs in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine and Lebanon, and finally completed the series in Jordan this spring. The contradiction between the strength and the vulnerability seen in the portraits is further enhanced by the powerful background colours or the derelict spaces she chose for the motifs. According to the photographer, “in Mectoub the camera itself has a gender and the feminine gaze holds a position of power, challenging the viewer to question traditional ideas of the overly predominant male gaze in the history of art.” It is also a political gesture, however, allowing the men she portrays the chance to make a personal, sensitive presentation of themselves, one that is not of the kind normally seen in photo reportages from these countries. “In patriarchal societies, where individual freedom appears to be an act of rebellion, it is they who, through their attitude, their look, their choices, their differences, make a political statement. It is they who put themselves in danger.” The photographer sees her task as offering a platform to these life choices, and, at the same time, of sensitizing the viewer towards universal questions of identity, stereotypes, gender and the relationship between men and women. “I play with the idea of both staged and documentary genres, while blending testimony with intimacy.” Consequently, Mectoub – a play of words between the colloquial ‘mec’, guy in English, and the Arabic ‘maktub’, which stands for the fateful ‘it is written…’ – represents a very timely project in an ever-changing world. The series has already been exhibited a number of times in France, the USA and some Arab countries. “The responses were very positive, both in the US and more recently in Algeria and Jordan, where the exhibition was met with an enthusiasm way beyond my expectations, which touched me particularly as it is a subject that concerns them directly.” Coten is very aware of the complexity of her project, yet says, “I always thought that art, precisely, was a landscape of freedom, where borders and taboos could be pushed back. This is how I see it and how I live it as an artist.” ulrich rüter loba

| 123

1 a Sudden Gust of Wind*

2 because a Diagonal always Works

3 bonzai

4 CCTV

5 Chindogu

6 City View #2

7 Kimono

8 Phonebooth

9 Plant

10 Police

11 Salaryman Greetings

1 2 Shallow Island

* after Jeff Wall and Hokusai

124 |

loba

2 016 Finalist

Max Pinckers Two Kinds of Memory and Memory itself During a two-month stay in the Saitama Prefecture north of Tokyo, the Brussels-born photographer, Max Pinckers, explored his perspective of what it is to be Japanese. A journey through the subtle and the obvious.

Lost in Translation. The Two Kinds of Memory and Mem-

ory Itself series in which Max Pinckers (* 1988) explores the often unusually distorted image western countries have of Japan, was produced within the framework of a two-month European Eyes on Japan grant programme of the NGO EU-Japan Fest Japan Committee. Pinckers’ image of Japan is shaped by Jeff Wall’s famous photo, A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai), from 1993. Born in 1946, the media artist’s oeuvre explored the history and the presentation of photographic conventions. Based on models produced by significant artists, Wall looked at the relationship between object, artist, camera and viewer. The picture mentioned, where we see four people by a body of water with the wind blowing both leaves and pieces of paper around their heads, is reminiscent of work by the Japanese painter Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849). Pinckers paraphrases this picture in the photos that make up his series: though not recognisable but still part of the picture, DIN A4 sheets of paper with excerpts of Claude Debussy’s La Mer score dance in the wind around two men is business suits. In another motif, Pinckers picks up on a piece of old photographic wisdom, ‘a diagonal always works’, and gets a man wearing a business suit to draw a line in chalk on the road. Not all his motifs are so multi-layered and ambiguous; within the series we find a rock and a bonsai sitting in water – even though the viewer is given no reference point that establishes the size of the object. What all the pictures share in common is the photographer emphasized use of desaturated colours and a strong flash. In this manner, Pinckers distances himself from documentary photography, using a style that corresponds very ideally to the artistic tendency so often observed in Japan. “What interested me about this strong idea of Japaneseness is that it again remarks on the power of images to form a reality, or a reality that may not exist, but merely what we want to believe exists.” Pinckers, who as the son of a journalist and a photographer was born in Belgium but grew up mostly abroad in Asia and Australia, generally wants his photography to ask critical questions and to explore what a picture has to do with the replication of reality. “Every image, or photograph, is produced with an ideological intention, whether consciously or not. I am currently committed to making these intentions and constructions explicit through my work.” To what degree viewers feel that Two Kinds of Memory and Memory Itself exposes them to the theme of Japan, is something each can check for themselves. carla susanne erdmann

loba

| 125

1 Mahsa, 17, murdered her father because he was against her marrying her boyfriend

2 Joint prayer service for young women and girl prisoners under 18 years of age

3 The inmates wait in long lines to be served their food

4 Hasrat, 17. Hasrat sits in prison for cattle stealing and pickpocketing

5 Nazanin, 16. Nazanin was caught with 651 grammes of cocaine

6 Shagayeg, 15 (left). Shagayeg took part in armed robberies with her boyfriend

7 Mothers in the institution keep their babies with them till they are two years old

8 Sanaz, 17. Sanaz and her boyfriend robbed and sometimes injured taxi drivers

9 The girls have an hour in the courtyard every morning and every evening

10 Sowgand, 16. The police found opium and cocaine when they searched her house

11 Mahshid, 15. Mashid is in prison for having an illegitimate affair and for drug possession

1 2 Khatereh, 13. Despite being the victim of rape, she was put into a juvenile prison

126 |

loba

2 016 Finalist

Sadegh Souri Waiting Girls Sadegh Souri managed to photograph young, female delinquents in an Iranian prison. Some of them have received the death sentence, for murder, drug possession or armed robbery. The sentence can only be carried out when they have turned 18 – a concession to international public opinion.

A juvenile prison in Iran. Children who get into trouble

with the law have to be dealt with as children. This was established by the UN Convention for the Rights of Children that was passed on 20 November, 1989, and which was ratified by all the member states, with the exception of the USA. Iran did sign this convention, but has never fulfilled its central mandate that forbids sentencing minors to death. Thus Iran holds the sad record among those countries that execute juveniles for serious crimes. This unacceptable situation is exacerbated by the fact that, according to Islamic law, boys are held criminally responsible when they reach the age of 15, while girls are already considered responsible at age nine. This means that there are young girls on death row who at times are barely more than children. The sentence is carried out as soon as they reach the age of 18 – unless they can convince the families of the victims to withdraw the charge beforehand. If they do not manage, they spend the time until the execution, imprisoned behind dirty walls. The Iranian photographer, Sadegh Souri, dedicated his Waiting Girls series to them. Daily life in a juvenile institution is harsh and depressing. “For my Waiting Girls series I chose black and white, because there was no colour there,” Souri explains. “Even if there was, we saw everything in black and white. The purpose of using black and white was to portray the girls’ loneliness.” It was not easy for the photographer to gain access, however he did manage to enter the Juvenile Delinquents Correction Centre in Shar-e Ziba near Teheran together with a documentary film maker acquaintance. They were given a maximum of twenty days there and were under close surveillance the whole time. Even so, Souri, who was born in 1985, was quickly able to gain the trust of the prisoners. He took the time to get to know their stories, their past and their living conditions. “I think we cannot say they are criminals. They are like us. They are human beings. Maybe they have come here because of an unwanted mistake. Maybe if they had lived in a better family, they would never have ended up here.” Souri’s photographic approach is deeply humanistic. “I don’t care if the photos become famous. What matters to me is to be able to save the lives of these girls. As a fellow human being, I try to convince the victims’ next of kin to waive the charges, so the girls can return to a normal life.” The free-lance photographer’s unprejudiced empathy is clearly reflected in his images. They offer ruthlessly bleak glimpses into horribly limited existences and create a strong impact. Without fail. A life sentence. katrin ullmann loba

| 127

1 This barn museum in Glover displays everyday items as though they were curiosities

2 The North East Kingdom is popular with drop-outs who want to lead a simpler life

3 life in such a remote area makes high demands of the people living there

4 Josie works at the butcher’s in the small village of barton

5 Strange everyday situations or stuffed animals: lavoué repeatedly…

6 …discovered new, fairytale-like aspects of the North East Kingdom

7 Sheriff Trevor Colby: lavoué is known for his powerful portraits

8 lavoué is always searching for different moods in the landscape

9 Walt is a taxidermist in the tiny settlement of Island Pond

10 The 84 year-old Emilia met lavoué whilst she was chopping wood in front of her house

11 Magic moments in a seemingly enchanted landscape

1 2 an unsolved riddle: what is the headless doll doing in a straw arm chair in the front garden?

128 |

loba

2 016 Finalist

Stéphane Lavoué The North East Kingdom The fact that the biggest surprises await you when you follow the path less known, was one that the French photographer (*1979) was able to confirm after discovering the North East Kingdom of Vermont. The outcome is a series that paints an impressive portrait of both the landscape and the people living there.

The kingdom without a king. “I discovered the place

by pure chance, as I was following the muddy and winding curves of a ridge path, connecting West-Burke to Sutton. It didn’t feel like I’d crossed any state border, but I had, in fact, illegally entered a royal territory: the North East Kingdom of Vermont.” This region, given the honorary title of ‘kingdom’ by its local inhabitants, lies on the border between Canada and the most northeastern corner of the US State of Vermont. Only around 65 000 people live in the North East Kindom. When the photographer found his way there, he immediately had the feeling that he had reached a very special place. His series is a homage to the landscape, but, above all, to the people he encountered there; because Lavoué was not only fascinated by the raw, elemental atmosphere, but even more by the idiosyncratic characters who live in the Kingdom: weird recluses and unconventional masters of the art of living, who have deliberately withdrawn to the seclusion of this remote part of the state. The photographer describes his discovery as having something of a fairytale-like quality about it. “Along the banks of the Memphrémagog lake to the Green Mountains slopes, I met the kingdoms guards and its subjects. I came across gutted houses as if they had been blown away by the passing of time, victims of the industrial decline. I met young, idealistic farmers seeking an alternative way of life, rejecting modern times, whispering in an unknown language in the ears of their horses and cows. I met bear hunters who use bows and arrows, a taxidermist wearing a wolf skin, a princess in a slaughterhouse. I went from farm to farm, looking for the king.” Even though Lavoué did not find a king, he did find all kinds of individualists who love the fact that they have their own ‘kingdom’. The region exerts a very particular drawing power, despite all the austerity and the hard work that are the basic requirements to survive in this remote area. There are not many jobs and most people have to take care of their own needs, making hunting an important and even essential activity. The winters are often long, gloomy and icy cold. Lavoué deliberately chose to take most of his pictures during the barren weeks when winter gives way to spring. His pictures are very atmospheric, capturing at times magical moments in what appears to be an enchanted landscape. The Paris-based photographer has been working for many national and international magazines since 2001, and is known above all for his exceptional portraits. He photographed the North East Kingdom series with a Leica M240, a 35mm and a 50mm Summilux, as well as an older 28mm Summicron. ulrich rüter loba

| 129

1 bangui. Fisherman in the Ubangui river

2 Zawa. a house burned down by SĂŠlĂŠka militia

3 Muslim refugees in the boda enclave

4 Voter registration in bangui

5 Zenio. Patient in a missionary hospital

6 Dismal portrait study

7 bangui. Injured National army soldier

8 Zawara. bishop blessing Christian militia

9 bangui. Mourning a dead relative

10 Carnot. Taking refuge in the church

11 Kaga bandoro. Inside an IDP Camp

1 2 bush path near Zawara village

130 |

loba

2 016 Finalist

William Daniels CAR Crisis The Central African Republic is often overlooked, unless a bloody conflict has erupted once again. The French photographer, William Daniels, chooses to travel there at those times when public interest has waned, to carefully look around following the last civil war – and probably before the next one.

A country with a turbulent past. Once a French

colony, the Central African Republic (CAR) has been independent since 1960. First as a republic, then as an empire, then a republic once again. Elections were followed by overthrows, and more recently armed hostilities between rebels and government troops. Finally, since the overthrow of President François Bozizé on 24 March, 2013 by the Séléka rebel alliance, CAR seems to be sinking inexorably into a maelstrom of violence. What began as a coup quickly escalated into a bloody conflict between Christians and Muslims. Even following the presidential elections of February this year, with the former premier minister, Faustin Archange Touadéra, claiming victory, corruption, on-going smouldering conflicts and political instability still shape the CAR. Rich in raw materials, the landlocked country is still one of the poorest in the world. The north-eastern provinces, are neglected by the central government. You do not find any streets, hospitals or schools there – but you do find crude oil, uranium and diamonds. “Hand grenades that cost the same as sweets have flooded the market and the lack of future prospects make many young men willing recruits to the militias’ causes,” William Daniels explains, summarising his impressions. The French photographer (*1977) came to the CAR when public attention following Bozizé’s overthrow has died away. “I generally focus on social issues that are hardly covered or not covered at all.” In his work, Daniels deliberately looks for a personal approach, an intense approach. This applies to his long-term projects, such as Mauvais Air (2007–2010) about malaria or Faded Tulips (2008–2011) about the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan. In the CAR he was also looking for the causes and origins of the conflicts and crises. Daniels travelled and photographed “everywhere in the country”. “More recently,” he explains, “I was focusing more on contextual and personal pictures, so anyone was of potential interest to me: miners, the displaced, fishermen…” Most of the pictures of people’s everyday lives shown here were taken during that phase. They do not hide the misery, but they do not focus on it either. The viewer is quite blatantly confronted with the unsugarcoated reality, which only reveals a small degree of the fates of those portrayed, whose eyes are mostly looking down or away to the side. Daniels’ images leave virtually no space for hope – for the people or for the future of the CAR. Even he finds it hard to be optimistic. “All the ingredients that led to the crisis (and to the previous ones) are still here. I believe the country will fall into new crises in the future.” katrin ullmann loba

| 131

1 Pakistani bar

2 afghan bar

3 Eritrean-Ethiopian disco bar

4 Mr. akbarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pakistani restaurant

5 Eritrean bar

6 afghan hair salon

7 afghan bar

8 afghan shop

9 Pakistani shop

10 Pakistani shop

11 Restaurant with roof damage

1 2 Pakistani restaurant

132 |

loba

2 016 Finalist

Giulio Piscitelli Informal Facilities in the Jungle In November 2015, the Italian photographer Giulio Piscitelli visited one of the largest refugee camps in Europe. Taken in the Calais Jungle, his Informal Facilities in the Jungle series metaphorically documents the passage from a temporary to a permanent crisis.

Life in the jungle. In 2015, the theme that dominated

news reporting was the refugee crisis in Europe: the dramatic stories of human fates were found on every cover. Empathy, fascination and anger accompanied the tragic images of life-threatening journeys. Their power was drawn from the moment, though they only revealed a tiny excerpt of the endless state of emergency. “The migrant crisis that Europe is facing, comes from far times, and is not something that is only related to the desperate arrivals on our shores. It is something that is transforming into something else.” This is the thought explored by Giulio Piscitelli’s Informal Facilities in the Jungle series. The series differentiates itself from other pieces on the European refugee crisis, because the pictures open up another aspect on the subject and convey a different content to that found in the press. They do not show the drama of the flight, they show a slower, quieter perspective. Piscitelli accompanies the people on one part of their long journey, sketching their existence in gloomy shades of colour. He remains at a distance from the protagonists. The highly emotional, immediacy of the individual fates is set in contrast to the unemotional sequence of architectural structures, always taken with the same lighting and from the same angle. A typecasting approach: the pictures are defined by the principal of serial lines. Piscitelli’s interest, however, is not focussed on architectural aesthetics: it does not centre on the self-made shacks but on the people inside them. What at first may appear as a superficial representation, turns out, on closer examination, to be a deep exploration of space and time. The architecture is simply a means to an end. It manifests the societal structures that have developed with time and introduces a new phase to the crisis; because, in spite of the delays in the ongoing journey across the channel, life goes on. And things get built: mosques, churches, businesses, restaurants and discotheques. These places offer a feeling of security that people are happy to escape to on a cold November night on the northern coast of France. “Calais is very important, due to the fact that this place represents the failure of immigration policies,” says Piscitelli. These temporary constructions are not only found in Calais. They also appear in other refugee camps where people have to hold out for a long time and are forced to find a way to deal with everyday life. Faced with the omnipresent ambiguity of the situation, these shacks, despite their wonky construction, offer people a kind of stability. A fragile stability, but one that is necessary for life. david rojkowski loba

| 133

1 Untitled

2 Untitled

3 Untitled

4 Untitled

5 Untitled

6 Untitled

7 Untitled

8 Untitled

9 Untitled

10 Untitled

11 Untitled

1 2 Untitled

134 |

loba

2 016 finalist

Vincent Delbrouck New Paintings Painting is a central source of inspiration for the photo artist, who was born in Brussels in 1975. Just like a painter adds colour and form to the canvas layer by layer, Vincent Delbrouck brings fragments of intuitive photographic experience into new compositions inspired by correspondences between colour and form.

Meditations on the beauty of colours. On the whole,

Vincent Delbrouck likes to call himself V.D., as it refers less to the ‘I’, and more to his self-chosen role as a ‘medium’, who is completely caught up in the sensual flow resulting from a confrontation with forms, with colours, with places and with objects. This means that what V.D. uses to explore photography deals primarily with his own obsessions and is, consequently, very subjective – but obsession in his case is found primarily in the programmatic decision to acknowledge the world as a totality and to absorb it fully into his being. Within this approach, there are no expressions, no rules, no systems of ideas that are subject to some sort of hierarchical categorisation. On the contrary, everything, absolutely everything, can be the starting point for a contemplative observation about the beauty of that which is. V.D. travels a lot and there are many places he visits more than once. Cuba in particular, Nepal in particular. The way the Belgian photographer uses his very comprehensive archive of pictures has a certain similarity to the way a painter works, inspired by the reality he has found, by a certain lighting, by a particular encounter, to commit colour and forms to a canvas in a specific order that carries his own personal signature. And at the same time there is a code in relationship to the piece of work, which includes a certain excerpt of the world containing a blank space, a space that has no explanation and is indeterminate, allowing the work to open up for a subjective processing on behalf of the viewer, so that the viewer decides what he or she finds relevant and how it connects to the semantic connections in his or her world. With the compilation of moments captured in a diversity of different places, realised with the New Paintings cycle through an intuitive selection process, V.D. extends a sensual invitation to the viewer, asking him or her to accept a set of associative combinations of fragmentary scenes, with an aesthetic power of seduction due, not least, to the fact that their location can not be identified and, consequently, can not be given any definitive interpretation. Even more significantly, the fragments themselves have an appeal that is due to more than just the way the colours and shapes are encoded and interact with each other. Their origin, as a reproduction of individual objects and moments of alleged daily quotidianity and in the context of the compositional combination created by the artist, recedes behind their visual efficacy as a universe rich in innuendoes that challenges the viewer in its symbolic reference to existential diversity. olaf stefanus loba

| 135

1 at the market in Trinidad things are sold directly from a truck

2 The stronger the light the deeper the shadow. a state butcher shop in Trinidad

3 Play of shadows in Trinidad: an imaginary guest or a threat for the vegetable vendor?

4 Triangular composition with shadows. There are 150km between Havana and the USa

5 Two young farmers in Consolation del Sur. The rest of the barn remains dark

6 The trainer of the Cuban National Volleyball Team in Havana

7 bicycle rickshaws in the city of Havana. only their silhouettes are visible

8 a window to the outside world: the 15 yearold Danybi in her parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; home in ViĂąales

9 Three protagonists or nine? a meeting place for young Cubans in Trinidad

10 Street scene in Trinidad: locals accompanied by their shadows

11 Night scene in Santiago de Cuba: a gateway to another world?

1 2 because of the sinking sun, the shadows appear more powerful than the pedestrians

136 |

loba

2 016 Finalist

Fulvio Bugani “Soul” y Sombras Following his first trip to Cuba, the Italian photographer Fulvio Bugani (*1974) has made the Caribbean island his second home. Fascinated by the people and their lifestyle, Bugani use photography to try and fathom the Cuban soul. The complex images in his series reveal shadows and celebrate light.

Under the skin. Shadows figure as a common creative

thread throughout Fulvio Bugani’s series. Even so, the dark side of the Caribbean island is not what it is all about. “More than the absence of light I focused my attention on the presence of shadows which are the evidence of the existence of light: without light, they wouldn’t exist; and the more intense the light, the deeper they are. The shadows were a way for me to show the mystery and complexity of Cuba, which is made up of strong contrasts,” he explains. Once you look at “Soul” y Sombras with this in mind, the series takes on another level that might have remained hidden at a first glance: Bugani wants to fathom the soul of a people who have captivated him from the word go. “I was in Cuba for the first time in 2003. I immediately felt a vibrant energy, which made me want to fully experience the place. I was overwhelmed by the savoury mix of passionate gestures and worn surfaces, of hectic movement and evocative stillness. But I knew I had touched only the most superficial part of the Cuban soul, made up of a melancholic joy, and I wanted to go beyond its irresistible attraction to catch what lies beneath the surface. I made Cuba my second home in order be able to mix with the people, letting myself be carried away by the pulse of daily life.” As an analogy for the strong feeling of community within Cuban society, the light and shadows in Bugani’s photography does not stand for good and bad, but for the visible and the concealed. The title of the series also has a deeper meaning. The word ‘soul’ sounds very similar to ‘sol’, the Spanish word for ‘sun’. If you just pay attention to the sound, it points towards what is visible in the pictures: ‘sol y sombras’, the interplay of sun and shadows. With the way Bugani writes the title, “Soul” y Sombras, he is pointing at the soul and the shadows – hidden things he is trying to capture in his series. During his many times there, he has produced a colourful, series of complex images, where strong light and deep shadows alternate and interact with each other. Some of his protagonists are accompanied by their shadows, giving them a dual presence on Bugani’s stage, while others are only represented as portraits. Bugani muses on his role model. “My inspiration is Alex Webb. I love the complexity of his images and the ‘ordered chaos’ where everything is just in the right place to balance the frame. He is a master of light.” And so, Bugani himself gives order to the chaos. His compositions are always made up of different levels of light and shadow which, combined with the colourful walls of the buildings, produce a multi-layered overall picture – as diverse as Cuban society itself. simon schwarzer loba

| 137

1 Untitled

2 Untitled

3 Untitled

4 Untitled

5 Untitled

6 Untitled

7 Untitled

8 Untitled

9 Untitled

10 Untitled

11 Untitled

1 2 Untitled

138 |

loba

2 016 Finalist

Esther Teichmann Mondschwimmen Autobiographic and fictional elements complement each other in Esther Teichmann’s (*1980) photographic work, creating a sensual reflection on home-sickness and the loss of the primordial. Inspired by 19th century painting, the artist allows space for a melancholic dream world to manifest in her carefully composed pictures.

The shadows of memory. Bathing naked at night in a

deep, dark lake – for Esther Teichmann it represents the fearful prospect of becoming one with the darkness because you are unable to return to the surface, on the one hand, and a moment of intense joy, on the other. Born in Karlsruhe in 1980 and living in London since she was 18, the work carried out in the dark room is not only constitutive for the quality demands of her artistic handicraft, but also a deeply symbolic practice: surrounded by red light we can watch the magical process as the developing bath allows a latent trace of the past to emerge on the surface of the paper, an apparently faithful replica of reality, but still an illusion. Longing and loss are themes that arise from Teichmann’s own personal story and fill her work, with dark water being an element that reappears time and again: it refers to childhood experiences in the boggy Karlsruhe Rheinaue wetlands, that the artist – who teaches at the Royal College of Art in London – also sees as an allegory for every person’s preconscious existence in their mother’s womb, and for the fact that they will never be able to recapture that feeling of absolute security. This existential, original experience of loss, which is also responsible for every feeling of home sickness – a feeling, in other words, that draws thoughts away from the here and now, to a time and place that can only exist in memory – is something Teichmann processes in her artistic practice, where photography is only one of various mediums she uses: text, painting, audio and video are also involved, when she presents her work in an exhibition. On the other hand, it is photography and its unique relationship to reality that particularly fascinates Teichmann within the context of the questions she is asking. This applies in equal measure to the process of taking photographs, the positively erotic fusion of the bodies of the protagonists that have posed for the camera, as well as to the effect that the picture of itself and in associative combination with other photographic images can produce. Teichmann photographs above all people who are very close to her. At the same time, her protagonists or their gaze are turned away from the viewer – as an indication that also in the real world there are certain things that impede us from getting closer to a person and that can not be overcome: we will never experience how our mother felt before we existed, what kind of life a loved one led before we met him or her. And by looking at a photograph, we will never be able to restore the present that is no more. Mondschwimmen (moon bathing) is her way of using photography to approach both the desire and the futility of this longing. olaF steFanus loba

| 139

1 Destroyed monument to lenin in Kotowsk, (now: Podilsk), Railway Employee’s Park

2 Demonstrators in protective gear, Kiev, January 2014

3 Police forces in Parliament Park, Kiev, January 2014

4 barricades in front of Separatist Headquarters, Donetsk, april 2014

5 Volunteers make camouflage clothing for Ukrainian army sharp shooters

6 another damaged lenin, destroyed during fights between the army and separatists

7 Dimitri fought in the pro-Ukrainian ajdar battalion, East Ukraine, December 2014

8 Still life at the headquarters of the ajdar battalion, East Ukraine, December 2014

9 Miss People’s Republic of Donetsk, with bodyguards, March 2015

10 Iwersky Monastery, destroyed during the battle for Donetsk airport, March 2016

11 Emergency shelter in a cellar, Pervomajsk, People’s Republic of luhansk, March 2016

1 2 Genia, one of the leaders of the pro-Russian, Cossack army in Donbass, March 2016

140 |

loba

2 016 Finalist

Guillaume Herbaut Ukraine: Maidan to Donbass Ukraine has suffered from political unease since its independence in 1991. At the end of 2013, things came to a head: the Maidan uprising, the Crimean crisis and the war over the Donbass. Guillaume Herbaut (born in Paris in 1970) has travelled to Ukraine a dozen times since 2014, portraying a country torn apart, with pictures that go far beyond a simple review of the situation.

The decapitated Lenin. A painted concrete statue

of Lenin missing its upper quarter, representative parks and squares turned into battlefields, and insight into daily life in an emergency situation. Motifs set in a modern theatre stage, where the performance does not focus on entertainment, but on current world affairs and apocalyptic dystopias. A presentation that causes the viewer deep distress because of its mixture of recognition for the art and deep consternation for the situation. Guillaume Herbaut’s series documenting Ukraine is free of cynicism, but reveals a refined sense for the absurd and for tragicomic moments. The photographer presents the stage where the conflict is taking place, the props that condense the scope of the drama into a picture, and the leading and supporting actors who are in the spotlight – though not for the audience’s sake, but because of their own convictions. Ukraine is the largest east European country. It has been independent since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. The political compass of this border country – as the name Ukraine actually means – swings back and forth between Europe and Russia. President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision not to sign the Treaty of Association with the European Union in November 2013, led to the Maidan uprising, that caused 80 deaths in the capital, Kiev, alone. In the spring of 2014 the Crimea was lost, and in the east of the country an armed conflict began that still rages on today. All this has led to an obscure mixture of contradictory news items: the reporting is tendentious depending on the bias. Herbaut’s images speak with a decisive, incorruptible language. They clearly reveal that the photographer is very fluent with his subject. “Since 2001, I get to Ukraine once a year. I discovered Ukraine with Chernobyl, and since then I’m very attached to the country. In this series I pursue the Maidan revolution and what’s happening in the rebel regions of Donbass. What’s happening in Ukraine now also means a major change for Europe.” In East Ukraine, Ukrainian militia and the Russian military are fighting, as well as the insurgents and regular Ukrainian troops. The Russian national appointed battalions are advocating the split of the two self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk from Ukraine. The situation will remain complicated, and the outcome of developments is uncertain. “I wanted to summarize the nearly three years of work I’ve done on the conflict in Ukraine, showing the madness of war, its footprints in the landscape and in the history of the country. And in the end, tell a story.” He has certainly achieved that. carla susanne erdmann loba

| 141

1 The spoils of a razzia in a prison: 99 rounds of ammunition

2 This woman is brought to safety after witnessing her boyfriendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s murder

3 on patrol in a slum: a policemen points at another person trying to escape

4 a rapid deployment force officer captures a fleeing suspect

5 on patrol in the red light district: a transgender poses in front of a police motorbike

6 Two knives are secured as evidence of a failed robbery attempt

7 The remand centre is set up for 75 people â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it currently holds 365

8 a special unit searches for a group of prison inmates who had managed to escape

9 a prisoner hands over his personal items during a cell search

10 a detainee is moved to a prison from the overcrowded remand centre

11 after a gunfight, locals check out the scene of the crime â&#x20AC;&#x201C; many of them are children

1 2 arrest in Chama. The district is classified as a Red Zone

142 |

loba

2 016 Finalist

Juan Pablo Bellandi Chasing Hampa Juan Pablo Bellandi (*1990) spent ten months accompanying the police during their life-threatening operations in his home town of Mérida. With this personal project, the Venezuelan photographer wants to show how criminality and violence define the daily life of his compatriots.

Hampa is the word Venezuelans use for criminals.

In the South American country, crime is a very common part of everyday life. The reasons are many: corruption and years of mismanagement have ruined the country, and the falling oil price seems to have given the economy its final death blow – the country is descending into chaos. While inflation devalues their money, people standin line at virtually empty supermarkets, trying to buy a minimum to survive. Bellandi even moved from Mérida to Amsterdam for a while, to earn and save a bit of money so as to be able to live in Venezuela. The news, however, does not paint a complete picture, Bellandi believes. “The reports that are shown are only a small part of what has to be dealt with. There’s also the insecurity, where leaving your house means that you might not come back, because somebody thinks it’s fine to kill you for your car, your cell phone, your money.” His assessment is confirmed by the official figures: with around 120 murders per 100 000 inhabitants, Caracas, has the highest murder rate in the world. The problem, however, is not limited to the capital. Bellandi spent ten months accompanying the Mérida police. “Explaining to them what I wanted to do with the photos was the most complicated part, because in a country like Venezuela certain things can’t be shown – for my security and for theirs.” Even so, the photographer managed to convince them of the relevance of his work. “Through my photos they saw a possibility, a way of showing that they are out there every day and night, chasing crime.” There are reports of corruption within the police forces, but in Chasing Hampa, Bellandi reveals what they are confronted with on a daily basis. “Someone was killed in the Campo de Oro slum, and when you get there you see the dead body, but the locals are drinking beer, dancing, listening to music, kids running around playing, while the relatives of the deceased are screaming, crying. Violent death has become normal for Venezuelans.” Already back when he was studying photography at the Escuela Argentina de Fotografía in Buenos Aires, Bellandi focussed on photojournalism. With straightforward, black and white images, he now reveals everyday life for security forces, and with it the insanity reigning on the streets of Venezuela. In classic reportage style, he reports on crackdowns, gunfights and murder. Why does he subject himself to this? “Pictures may change the situation being reported on, and I believe that’s what photojournalists want. Photos grant visibility so that the world can know what’s happening in my country; but crime will continue taking place, so for right now I’ll keep chasing hampa.” simon schwarzer loba

| 143

1 Courtney, Coed Cae 2015

2 abertillery, 2015

3 Chloe, Coed Cae 2015

4 Courtney, Coed Cae 2015

5 little boy, Cwmcarn 2015

6 Kayla, Swffryd 2016

7 Nantyglo, 2016

8 abbie, Swffryd 2016

9 abertillery, 2015

10 Paige and lydia, Coed Cae 2015

11 Courtney, Coed Cae 2015

1 2 Isabel, Swffryd 2016

144 |

loba

2 016 leica oskar barnack award newcomer

Clémentine Schneidermann The Unbearable, the Sadness and the Rest The French photographer has nurtured a relationship with Wales for many years. She has been living in Abertillery since 2015 after getting her Master’s in Documentary Photography. This is where she produced the awardwinning series that intrinsically combines documentary, portrait and fashion photography.

In the de-industrialized zone. How do you go about

finding new photographic perspectives for a region that is otherwise only known for its many problems? This was the question that French photographer Clémentine Schneidermann (* 1991) asked herself, after being chosen as the first recipient of the newly-established Photographer in Residence programme of the county of Blaenau Gwent, in the south east of Wales. To a large degree as a result of a BBC article titled The unbearable sadness of the Welsh Valleys, that documented the tough living conditions in the area, Schneidermann decided to look for some alternative answers. Like a number of other regions in the UK, Blaenau Gwent is suffering from the aftermath of the demise of heavy industry. This protracted process has continued over many decades, but with the closure of the last mines fifteen years ago, many villages and towns have fallen into a state of deep desolation. Jobs and prospects are in very short supply, and many people have moved away from the South Wales Valleys. As a consequence, the natural beauty of the landscape stands in even stronger contrast to the poverty and melancholy of the people who have remained there. While still acknowledging the harsh reality, Schneidermann developed a very creative approach for her photographic work. The threemonth stay she had planned turned into ten, during which time she intensified her connections to the locals and further developed her The Unbearable, the Sadness and the Rest series. She still lives in Wales today and continues to pursue her long-term project there. During her explorations of everyday life and the real living conditions of people in the area around the villages of Coed Cae, Abertillery and Swffryd, the young photographer concentrated on working with children who are particularly affected by the poverty. “I set up makeshift studios in community centres and different council estates of the area where I invited children to take part in this lowbudget fashion shoot.” Schneidermann then photographed the dressed up children – who had been prepared for the photo shoot by a stylist – in the streets and in front of the houses in specific locations she had chosen. She also included a few still lifes as part of the series. The outcome surprised more than just the participants and observers who were there: equally surprised were many of those who only look at the region with a degree of prejudice. Using fun and humour, Schneidermann managed to rebuild self-confidence in more than just the protagonists of the fancy-dress show. “In a playful way, I invite the viewer to reconsider these often stigmatized places.” ulrich rüter loba

| 145

The Winners 1980 – 2015 1980

Floris Bergkamp | Nl

2009

Mikhael Subotzky | RSa Dominic Nahr | CH | Newcomer

1981

Björn Larsson | S

1982

2010

1983

Wendy Watriss | USa Neil McGahee | USa

Jens Olof Lasthein | S Andy Spyra | D | Newcomer

1984

Stormi Greener | USa

20 1 1

1985

Sebastião Salgado | bR

Jan Garup | DK Jing Huang | CN | Newcomer

1986

David C. Turnley | USa

2012

1987

Jeff Share | USa

Frank Hallam Day | USa Piotr Zbierski | Pl | Newcomer

1988

Chris Steele-Perkins | Gb

2013

1989

Charles Mason | USa

Evgenia Arbugaeva | RUS Ciril Jazbec | SVN | Newcomer

1990

Raphael Gaillarde | F

2014

1991

Barry Lewis | Gb

Martin Kollar | SVK Alejandro Cegarra | VEN | Newcomer

1992

Sebastião Salgado | bR

2015

JH Engström | S

1993*

Eugene Richards | USa

Wiktoria Wojciechowska | Pl | Newcomer

1995

Gianni Berengo-Gardin | I

*only one competition was held 1993/94.

1996

Larry Towell | C

1997

Jane Evelyn Atwood | USa

1998

Fabio Ponzio | I

1999

Claudine Doury | F

2000

Luc Delahaye | F

2001

Bertrand Meunier | F

2002

Narelle Autio | aUS

2003

Andrea Hoyer | USa

2004

Peter Granser | D

2005

Guy Tillim | RSa

2006

Tomás Munita | RCH

2007

Julio Bittencourt | bR

2008

Lucia Nimcova | SK

146 |

loba

Tokyo SĂŁo Paulo Boston Porto Frankfurt Wetzlar Zingst Milan Salzburg Vienna Warsaw Prague Singapore Los Angeles Kyoto LeicA GALLerieS WorLdWide Great photographers, young talent and rediscoveries â&#x20AC;&#x201C; inspiring exhibitions by the best Leica photographers in the world. www.leica-galleries.com