Surveillance and sabotage on the Deutsche Börse photography prize shortlist
As the prestigious award marks its 30th anniversary, this year’s nominees consider hidden human labour, life in war-torn Ukraine and the Buddhist concept of rebirth
TL;DR
- Salvatore Vitale's exhibition 'Sabotage' examines the invisible human labor sustaining the digital economy, exploring themes of automation, surveillance, and historical patterns of exploitation.
- Hoda Afshar's 'Performing the Invisible' re-examines colonial photographic archives, particularly those of Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault, challenging the gaze upon veiled bodies.
- Sasha Kurmaz's publication 'Red Horse' is an 800-page visual diary documenting life in Ukraine during the full-scale Russian invasion, combining personal experiences with wider societal impacts of war.
- Lotus L Kang's installation 'The Face of Desire is Loss' uses photography, film, and sculpture to explore the body's changes over time, memory, loss, and the Buddhist concept of rebirth.
- The prize identifies and rewards artists for exhibitions or books in Europe that have made a significant contribution to photography in the past 12 months.