Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2020

Thoughtful exhibition at the Photographers’ Gallery of the four shortlisted entries for this year’s Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2020.

I can sometimes find this exhibition a bit strange and leaving me asking about the boundaries between photography, art and documentary but this year I found all of them interesting and, dare I say, beautiful!

Mohamed Bourouissa’s images of marginalised people were moving. I particularly like the series of shop lifters, standing in the shops they had stolen from holding up the offending items, usually such simple cheap things. His section was livened up by a Virtual Reality element. You downloaded an app then pointed your phone at pictures on the floor and 3D digital images of people appeared in the room with you. Weird but fun.

Most artistic was Clare Strand’s images where she took found black and white photographic images, which she converted into data of light and shade via a grid then translated into a painting based on one square of colour per grid square. These created pixilated style, abstract paintings. I like the new way of art and photography talking to each other.

Upstairs were some lovely clear, documentary style photographs by Mark Neville of people from Britany melding the traditional and modern. A wonderful photograph of a cheerleader surrounded by hunting dogs on a pontoon bridge behind her greeted you as you entered the gallery and you couldn’t help but smile.

Finally, my favourite work, pictured here, by Anton Kusters. Each picture in this installation is an image of the sky above the last known location of every Nazi camp with the GPS location and number of victims of each site printed on them. I love the way something so awful becomes something quite beautiful.

Closes 20 September 2020

Review

Guardian


 

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