Thursday, 20 February 2014

Sony World Photography Awards capture everyday struggles across the world



  • Ten finalists aged 21-28 from every continent present stunning images to Sony World Photography Awards

  • Pictures give glimpse into lives of everyday people around the world from children to the elderly

  • Images include a blind man in China and young twins whose world will change when forced to live apart

  • Student photographers competing for prize of £28,860 (€35,000) worth of Sony photography equipment


By

Deni Kirkova



PUBLISHED:


11:05, 20 February 2014




|
UPDATED:


16:55, 20 February 2014



A young, blue-eyed child stares sleepily down the lens of a camera, highlighting the struggle of children with special needs.


It is the work of Danish Tor Birk Trads, 27, dubbed Jens who has ADHD.


Tor is one of ten finalists competing for the Sony World Photography Awards Student Focus gong, hoping to scoop the prize of £28,860 (€35,000) worth of Sony photography equipment.


Another South African entry is from Russell Bruns, 26. He says of his work:


Another South African entry is from Russell Bruns, 26. He says of his work: ‘South Africa’s desegregated top-tier schools still face challenges of diversity and old institutional ideologies’


He explains: ‘The story behind the

picture is that the Danish government has decided to include special

needs children in regular public schools. And they have closed a lot of

the schools who took care of special needs children,’ says Tor.


‘The idea is that the special needs children should be included in the daily life of kids with “normal” intelligence.


‘But

the backside is that the inclusions don’t always work very well. The

teachers are not yet educated and they lack time to deal with the

special needs children.’




Other photos in the running include the work of young photography student Nadia Navarro, 28, from Argentina.


Her portrait features a proud, defiant and somewhat hairy man wearing fishnet tights in a dark alley holding a pair of spiked heels in an alleyway. It highlights the plight of men who feel they need to hide their female sides.


She says of the idea behind her work: ‘People who

fight against the society prejudices with daily little actions which

defy the pre-establishment are tomorrow’s rebels.’



Tara Mette, 21, presents her Human Nature At Its Best portrait of disabled Don Wessels, 53, cradling his two-year-old son


Tara Mette, 21, presents her Human Nature At Its Best portrait of disabled Don Wessels, 53, cradling his two-year-old son


The Sony World Photography Awards Student Focus competition aims to showcase and reward emerging photography talent and support and inspire the future generation of photographers.


Photography students

around the world were asked to submit a

single image to the brief Tomorrow’s News, and a jury of industry experts

selected ten finalists.


The finalists range between 21 and 28 and come from from every continent in the world. They now compete for

tens of thousands of pounds worth of Sony photography equipment.


One

of the youngest finalists is

South Africa’s Tara Mette, 21. Her photo, Human Nature At Its Best

portrays disabled Don Wessels, 53, lovingly cradling his two-year-old

son and

surrounded by his family.


‘[He] has been disabled and blind for 27 years,’ explains Tara.


‘In

1987 he was conscripted into the Apartheid era South African army,

compulsory at the time. In 1988 he was on a reconnaissance investigation

in the Angolan bush where he suffered a near fatal explosion from a

misidentified object that was in fact a landmine. The explosion took his

sight and both his hands.



‘Since his accident, Don has obtained

a BA Degree at the University of Stellenbosch, an Honors and Masters

post graduate degrees in international politics with UNISA. He was

nominated as a candidate running for Parliament in 1999.


‘To

Don, his best accomplishment was to marry his wife, Maatje van Wyk in

2001. The couple have had many adventures including climbing Mount

Kilimanjaro and they have twice completed a four day canoeing trip down

the Orange River. Their first born baby, Matteo, was born on the 15th

October 2007 and their second, Francois, on 8 June 2009.


British Scarlet Evans, 22, who studies at Central Saint Martins, presents her entry #ThenewNewTestament


British Scarlet Evans, 22, who studies at Central Saint Martins, presents her entry #ThenewNewTestament



Jordan VanSise, 24, from the USA, submits a Self Portrait.


Jordan VanSise, 24, from the USA, submits a Self Portrait. ‘I often find it difficult to know where I stand with myself,’ he says



‘The image talks about Don living in

two worlds, his own world and his families. Don spends each day with his

two-year-old son whom he is holding; he keeps him occupied through out

the day because he is too young to go to kindergarten. Don lives in a

world were his senses are the most important factor of his life, all

this combined with his roles as a father and husband .His reality is

different from anyone around him and he has mastered that reality as

best as he can.’



Another South African entry

is from Russell Bruns, 26, with his picture of a lone shcoolboy looking

unsure, standing in a corridor.


Entitled

Heewon, Grade 1, Courtrai Primary School, Paarl, South Africa, Bruns

says of his work: ‘South Africa’s desegregated top-tier schools still

face challenges of diversity and old institutional ideologies.’


British

Scarlet Evans, 22, who studies at Central Saint Martins, presents her

entry #ThenewNewTestament – a picture of a sign outside a church,

promoting Bible scripture and social media engagement.


She

says: ‘The internet has become an almost holy entity in the supreme

power that it represents, can religion really be immune to its take

over? In truth, the internet is already its own kind of religion.’


Jordan VanSise, 24, from the USA, submitted his Self Portrait, above, explaining:


‘I often find it difficult to know where I stand with myself. While I try to hold on to the value and the beauty of this life, I am constantly reminded of the things I have come witness to and I wonder what the point of all this is,’ he says.


Li Dandan, 22, from China, offers his portrait Liu Yuanhuang, who has an eye condition. He said on September 23, 2013, in Qikou, Shanxi, China, of his work: ‘I’m not an alien, it’s just glaucoma!’


Rahul Talukder, 23, from Bangladesh, presents his work, Rana Plaza Tragedy. ‘More than 1,130 workers died and 2,500 injured in this deadliest garment-factory accident in history,’ he says.


Li Dandan, 22, from China, takes his portrait Liu Yuanhuang through to the final. He said:


Li Dandan, 22, from China, takes his portrait Liu Yuanhuang through to the final. He said: ‘I’m not an alien, it’s just glaucoma!’



Rahul Talukder, 23, from Bangladesh, presents his work, Rana Plaza Tragedy.


Rahul Talukder, 23, from Bangladesh, presents his work, Rana Plaza Tragedy. ‘More than 1,130 workers died and 2,500 injured,’ he says



Chloe Riddell, 25, from New Zealand


Chloe Riddell, 25, from New Zealand’s picture The Twins portrays brother and sister in their final moments before being separated



Perhaps one of the saddest images is Chloe Riddell, 25, from New Zealand’s picture The Twins. It portrays brother and sister in their final months before being separated to live separatly. ‘Twins Tayah and James living with Nana, three months before their separation from each other,’ she says.


Romania’s Sebastian Vacariuc, 23, submits Old Man On A Field Where The City Ends. He says: ‘This photography was taken on a field at the limit of Cluj-Napoca city in Transylvania. At a certain moment, an old man appeared and started walking around. He seemed absorbed by inner thoughts, by a sort of vision or premonition.’


All ten finalists have now been set a second brief, to submit a series of images under the title Self-Portraits. They will be shown at the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards

exhibition at Somerset House, London from May 1-18 and published in the

2014 Sony World Photography Awards book.


From

this work, the Student Focus judges will choose one overall student

winner who will be announced at the Sony World Photography Awards gala

ceremony in London on 30 April.


Many previous finalists of the Student Focus competition are now working regularly in the photography industry, say Sony.


In the running is the work of Danish Tor Birk Trads, 27, dubbed Jens Has ADHD. The Danish government has decided to include special needs children in regular public schools


In the running is the work of Danish Tor Birk Trads, 27, dubbed Jens Has ADHD. The Danish government has decided to include special needs children in regular public schools


Romania


Romania’s Sebastian Vacariuc, 23, submits Old Man On A Field Where The City Ends. The photography was taken in on a field at the limit of Cluj-Napoca city in Transylvania


Nadia Navarro, 28, from Argentina hopes her portrait Men


Nadia Navarro, 28, from Argentina hopes her portrait Men’s Doesn’t Hide Their Women Side Anymore will scoop the Sony prize









Comments (94)


Share what you think



The comments below have not been moderated.





Sam,


London, United Kingdom,


18 minutes ago


Stunning photos. These are much better photos than the ones in the National Geographic article a few days ago for those of us who saw it.






OLIVIER,


Somewhere, Mauritius,


42 minutes ago


I like the U.S pic, these guys seems so laid back !






Amber Coffey,


US, United States,


1 hour ago


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superskyy,


San Marcos, United States,


2 hours ago


I like the Glaucoma one the most!





Concerned,


Plymouth,


1 hour ago


Surely Glaucoma can be treated?





LucieJayne,


Grimsby, United Kingdom,


15 minutes ago


He may not be able to afford to





surrey girl,


camberley,


3 hours ago


Ridiculous!





Mr Owl,


Beach, Vanuatu,


4 hours ago


Sucks to suck.






Nicole,


Miami, United States,


5 hours ago


Look on the stairs of the self-portrait photo!! Ack!!


2 of 3 repliesSee all replies





Johnnyfive,


Liberty and justice for all, United States,


4 hours ago


He is saying that he is unsure if who he is working for are the good guys.





Leo45,


Indianapolis, United States,


2 hours ago


Its from the Saw movie franchise not V for Vendetta.





Jake,


Boston, United States,


6 hours ago


Hopefully that idiotic “Men’s Doesn’t Hide Their Women Side Anymore” gets thrown out of the contest and deleted from every medium it exists on and the camera that took it gets destroyed. The other pictures are poignant and real and human, but that’s just stupidity that doesn’t even belong in the contest. It’s offensive to the struggles of those in the other pictures.





ValRides1966,


Chicago, United States,


3 hours ago


Well said.





Peahair,


Stoke,


43 minutes ago


Well done Jake, you’ve just shown in one statement why men do hide..





Dakota,


Scotland, United Kingdom,


6 hours ago


The first two photos are so cute. But I feel so sad at the Twins photo. What kind of society allows twins, especially ones who must be six to eight years old, be separated? Surely there is someone who can take them both.





youknowitall,


cheltenham, United Kingdom,


5 hours ago


I agree, this is cruel beyond belief, I hope they are reunited again one day.





teamchaos,


island, Aruba,


6 hours ago


Of course the feminization of men has to be included.





raefinn,


Somewhere, Canada,


1 hour ago


Agreed but my mother always said you can only be subjected to the will of others willingly.



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