© Adam Ferguson

(Asia Pacific, 12 April 2022) – The World Photography Organisation is delighted to announce the overall winners in the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards 2022. The acclaimed photographer Adam Ferguson (Australia) has won the Photographer of the Year title and accompanying $25,000 (USD) cash prize and a range of Sony digital imaging kit. Also announced are the ten category winners alongside 2nd and 3rd place of the Professional competition as well as overall winners of the Open, Student and Youth competitions.

Winners are revealed in a celebratory announcement video featuring  interviews and reactions from winning photographers, available to view via worldphoto.org/ceremony-2022

The Sony World Photography Awards 2022 exhibition opens at Somerset House, London from 13 April – 2 May 2022, featuring over 300 prints and hundreds of additional images in digital displays from winning and shortlisted photographers. Also presented are works by this year’s Outstanding Contribution to Photography, the renowned Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky.

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Migrantes is a series of black and white self-portraits of migrants in Mexico, taken as they waited to cross the border into the United States. Photographed in collaboration with the subjects, Ferguson set-up the scene for each image, mounting a medium format camera on a tripod with a cable release and then stepped back, allowing the individuals to choose the moment of capture and participate in the process of documenting their lives.

In February 2021, after a change of presidential administrations in the US, migrants from Central and South America surged on the US-Mexican border. Photographs of fraught migrants carrying their belongings, clinging to loved ones and caught in the flashes of photographers’ strobes were circulating in the media. While Ferguson noted the importance of this photojournalism, he noticed a distinct lack of photography from the Mexican side of the border, especially images that gave the migrants any measure of agency.

With this in mind, Ferguson pitched the project to his editor at the New York Times and secured the commission to travel to Juarez and Reynosa for 11 days over April and May 2021. His approach to the project was inspired by Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin’s Ghetto – a visual journey through 12 modern ghettos including the Rene Vallejo Psychiatric Hospital in Cuba in which the former artist duo gave patients control over the release shutter.

Accompanied by Mexican journalists Ernesto Rodríguez, Silvia Cruz, Noe Gea Medina and Laura Monica Cruz Flores, Ferguson approached migrants staying in shelters near the border, recording their often harrowing stories and working with them to stage and capture the image in a relaxed space where they would feel less self-conscious. He chose black and white film as a way of cancelling the chaotic medley of background colours and stripping the image down to its emotional value. The resulting series presents a poignant portrait of people suspended in time while in search of a more prosperous life.

Commenting on Ferguson’s winning project, Mike Trow, Chair of the 2021 Professional competition says: ‘What Adam Ferguson has done on the US / Mexico border with migrant families and individuals is deeply compassionate and moving. This set of portraits speaks volumes about how moral intentionality and respect can help avoid some of that sense of manipulation and invasion of the private which photography is often accused of. By giving his subjects the shutter release Adam hands a certain power to the sitter to make that decision on how to be perceived. These photographs are beautiful, meaningful and kind. There were other stories that we as a jury admired deeply but Adam’s series stood out because it speaks so eloquently and warmly of people under hardship but who hold on to their decency and love regardless of place and wealth.’

Commenting on his win Ferguson says: Through collaborating with migrants, this series of photographs was an attempt to make images that inspired empathy, rather than sympathy. By surrendering the control of capture and giving each migrant agency in the process of their representation, I hoped to subvert the narrative of marginalisation and create a story that felt more human, relatable and honest. I’m grateful to the brave and resilient individuals who agreed to work with me and receive this award on behalf of them also. Winning the Photographer of the Year award gives this story another life. It allows a new audience to connect with the important stories of the individuals who shared their story with me.

PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY WINNERS

Winning photographers in the Professional competition have been selected by a panel of expert judges for submitting an outstanding body of work of five to ten images, ranging from stories of political and climate crises, to personal meditations on family and loss, and creative approaches to still life and nature photography.

All category winners receive Sony’s digital imaging kit. This year’s winners are:

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
WINNER: Domagoj Burilović (Croatia) for his series Dorf
Finalists: 2nd place Javier Arcenillas (Spain); 3rd place Yun Chi Chen (Taiwan)

CREATIVE
WINNER: Alnis Stakle (Latvia) for his series Mellow Apocalypse
Finalists: 2nd place Raphael Neal (United Kingdom); 3rd place Sarah Grethe (Germany)

DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS
WINNER: Jan Grarup (Denmark) for his series The Children of the Financial Collapse in Venezuela
Finalists: 2nd place Fabian Ritter (Germany); 3rd place Win McNamee (United States)

ENVIRONMENT
WINNER: Shunta Kimura (Japan) for his series Living in the Transition
Finalists: 2nd place Gideon Mendel (South Africa); 3rd place Giacomo d’Orlando (Italy)

LANDSCAPE
WINNER: Lorenzo Poli (Italy) for his series Life on Earth
Finalists: 2nd place Andrius Repšys (Lithuania); 3rd place Gareth Iwan Jones (United Kingdom)

PORTFOLIO
WINNER: Hugh Fox (United Kingdom) for his submission Portfolio
Finalists: 2nd place Julian Anderson (United Kingdom); 3rd place Anna Neubauer (Austria)

PORTRAITURE
WINNER: Adam Ferguson (Australia) for his series Migrantes
Finalists: 2nd place George Tatakis (Greece); 3rd place Brent Stirton (South Africa)

SPORT
WINNER: Ricardo Teles (Brazil) for his series Kuarup
Finalists: 2nd place Adam Petty (Australia); 3rd place Roman Vondrouš (Czech Republic)

STILL LIFE
WINNER: Haruna Ogata (Japan) & Jean-Etienne Portail (France) for their series Constellation
Finalists: 2nd place Cletus Nelson Nwadike (Sweden); 3rd place Alessandro Gandolfi (Italy)

WILDLIFE & NATURE
WINNER: Milan Radisics (Hungary) for his series The Fox’s Tale
Finalists: 2nd place Federico Borella (Italy); 3rd place Oana Baković (Romania)

To find out more about this year’s winning and finalist projects please visit our online winners’ galleries or download the Sony World Photography Awards 2022 book.

OPEN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

The Open competition celebrates the power of single images. Winning photographs are selected for their ability to communicate a remarkable visual narrative combined with technical excellence. Chosen from ten Open category winners, Scott Wilson (United Kingdom) is Open Photographer of the Year 2022 and the recipient of the $5,000 (USD) cash prize, Sony’s digital imaging equipment and global exposure.

Wilson won for his powerful photograph Anger Management entered in the Natural World & Wildlife category. The black and white image depicts a dirt-caked wild mustang kicking up a dust storm in northwestern Colorado. The picture was taken shortly after the stallion plunged himself into a mud pool – protection from summer bugs – and while pounding the ground to let competing males know he was ready to fight for his spot at a nearby watering hole.

Speaking of his win Wilson says: ‘It’s an absolute honour to see Anger Management win Open Photographer of the Year 2022 in the Sony World Photography Awards. Viewing mustang behaviour in the wild is a raw and dynamic wildlife experience.  The image tension is symbolic of the conservation challenges facing wild horses in the American West, where these treasured animals are being rounded up in record numbers and removed from public lands. By the end of 2022, there will be more wild horses in captivity than running free.’

STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Ezra Bohm (Netherlands) of the Nederlandse Acedemie voor Beeldcreatie has been awarded Student Photographer of the Year 2022, winning €30,000 worth of Sony photography equipment for his institution. Bohm was chosen for his series The Identity of Holland, created in response to the brief Connections which challenged students to present a story that highlights how they, or someone they have documented, interact with the world. For his winning series Bohm photographed the residents of close-knit communities in the Netherlands who maintain a traditional way of life, highlighting their extraordinarily detailed customary dress and their connection to Dutch cultural history.

Commenting on his win Bohm says: “Winning this prize confirms to me the importance of photographing the unexpected, to tell stories that come from my heart and soul. By following your ambition, everything you do becomes more meaningful, and probably also more successful.”

YOUTH PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Selected from six category winners, Tri Nguyen (Vietnam, 18 years-old) has won Youth Photographer of the Year 2022 for his image Under The Moonlight. The photograph depicts a young man basking in artificial moonlight standing against a derelict background. The moonlight symbolises a spotlight shining on the young man, and his longing to accept his flaws. The photo is part of a series that investigates self-reflection and a yearning to break the mould and celebrate one’s imperfections.

For his win Nguyen receives Sony’s digital imaging kit and global exposure. Commenting on his win Nguyen says: “As a budding and motivated artist, I am extremely excited and proud to have been chosen as the Youth Photographer of the Year 2022. I humbly accept this Award and will use this momentum to further my photography.”

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY
This year’s Outstanding Contribution to Photography has been awarded to the renowned Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. Widely regarded as one of the world’s most accomplished contemporary photographers, Burtynsky is best known for his sweeping images of industrial landscapes and the wider environmental crisis. In striking depictions of vast human-altered landscapes Burtynsky lays bare the awesome scale of infrastructure and destruction; presenting vistas of scarred mountain ranges, desiccated bodies of water, and sprawling urbanism distilled into painterly abstractions of colour and form.

Over a dozen large-scale photographs are presented as part of the Sony World Photography Awards 2022 exhibition. The selection, made by the artist, highlights key bodies of work over his 40-year career. These include Anthropocene (2018), Salt Pans (2016), Water (2013), Oil (2009) and Railcuts (1985). Additionally, presented in the UK for the first time will be images from Burtynsky’s forthcoming series Africa (2022), a look at the African landscape and areas transformed by resource extraction.

SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2022 EXHIBITION
The Sony World Photography Awards 2022 exhibition opens at Somerset House, London from 13 April – 2 May 2022. In addition to the work of this year’s overall and category winners the exhibition features solo presentations by the 2020 Photographer of the Year winner Pablo Albarenga (Uruguay), and 2021 winner Craig Easton (United Kingdom).

Albarenga presents a selection of images from his winning series Seeds of Resistance, a body of work which pairs photographs of landscapes and territories in danger from mining and agribusinesses with portraits of the activists fighting to conserve them. Easton exhibits a dozen black and white portraits from his series Bank Top, depicting residents of the tight knit neighbourhood of Bank Top in Blackburn. The project examines the representation and misrepresentation of communities in northern England, exploring the stories and experiences of local inhabitants through images and accompanying texts by project collaborator, writer and academic, Abdul Aziz Hafiz.

The Sony World Photography Awards 2022 virtual exhibition is available to view via: www.worldphoto.org/virtualexhibition2022

PROFESSIONAL COMPETITION 2022 FINALISTS AND SHORTLIST

OPEN COMPETITION 2022 CATEGORY WINNERS AND SHORTLIST

PRESS CONTACTS
For further information, please contact:
Inbal Mizrahi on press@worldphoto.org / +44 (0) 7393 023508 

NOTES TO EDITORS
Images are available for download at: http://www.worldphoto.org/press

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About Sony World Photography Awards
Established 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 15th year, the free-to-enter Awards are a global voice for photography, providing a vital insight into contemporary photography and offering leading and emerging artists world-class opportunities for exposure of their work. The Awards additionally recognises the world’s most influential artists working in the medium through the Outstanding Contribution to Photography; the acclaimed Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky is the 2022 recipient of this award joining a distinguished list of iconic names including Martin Parr, William Eggleston, Candida Hofer, Nadav Kander, Gerhard Steidl, Graciela Iturbide. The Awards showcase the works of winning and shortlisted photographers at a prestigious annual exhibition at Somerset House, London. worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards-exhibition. Our hashtags to follow are #sonyworldphotographyawards #swpa #swpanews.

2022 JUDGES
Professional Competition: Rahaab Allana, Curator and Publisher, Alkazi Foundation for the Arts, New Delhi; Ângela Ferreira, Artist, Independent curator, writer and educator; Deborah Klochko, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, California; Richmond Orlando Mensah, Founder and Creative Director, Manju Journal, Ghana; Mike Trow, Independent Curator and Photo Editor and Chair of the Jury.

Open and Youth Competition: Hideko Kataoka, Director of Photography, Newsweek Japan

Student Competition: Colin Czerwinski, photographer and Founder, NOICE Magazine, USA

ADAM FERGUSON
Photographer of the Year
Adam Ferguson is an Australian photographer whose work explores conflict and critical social issues. Ferguson holds a B.A from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University Australia and currently lives between New York City and Sydney. He is currently working on two monographs – a war diary about his work in Afghanistan, and a contemporary portrait of Australia’s bush and its colonial legacy. www.adamfergusonstudio.com

SCOTT WILSON
Open Photographer of the Year
Scots-born Scott Wilson (aka WilsonAxpe Photography) took up wildlife photography in 2016 after chemotherapy treatment for stage 4 colon cancer forced him to avoid sunlight and he began shooting Colorado wildlife from the protective shade of his car. From there, he was introduced to the beauty and plight of America’s wild mustangs and has become a committed photo-advocate for wild horse conservation. Scott, who publishes his work as WilsonAxpe Photography, is a resident artist at Gallery 6 in Denver, Colorado. www.wilsonaxpe.com

EZRA BOHM
Student Photographer of the Year
In my photography, I am looking for the meaning of the ‘human Identity’. Who are we, what has made us who we are, what way of life are we made for and how can a trained mind help us with this journey? To find answers to our identity I photograph the history, culture, and spiritual awareness of human. www.ezrabohm.com

EDWARD BURTYNSKY
Outstanding Contribution to Photography
Edward Burtynsky’s photographs are included in the collections of over 60 major museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, the Tate Modern in London, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California. Burtynsky’s distinctions include the TED Prize, the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts, The Outreach award at the Rencontres d’Arles, the Roloff Beny Book award, and the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. He sits on the board of directors for CONTACT: Toronto’s International Photography Festival, and The Ryerson Image Centre. In 2006 he was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of Canada and in 2008 he was awarded the ICP Infinity Award for Art. In 2018 Burtynsky was named Photo London’s Master of Photography and the Mosaic Institute’s Peace Patron. In 2019 he was the recipient of the Arts & Letters Award at the Canadian Association of New York’s annual Maple Leaf Ball and the 2019 Lucie Award for Achievement in Documentary Photography. Most recently he was awarded a Royal Photographic Society Honorary Fellowship (2020). He currently holds eight honorary doctorate degrees and is an active lecturer on photographic art. www.edwardburtynsky.com

CRAIG EASTON
Craig Easton is an international multi award-winning photographer whose work is deeply rooted in the documentary tradition. He shoots long-term documentary projects exploring issues around social policy, identity and a sense of place. His work mixes portraiture, landscape and reportage approaches to storytelling, often working collaboratively with others to incorporate words, pictures and audio in a research-based practice that weaves a narrative between contemporary experience and history. In February 2022, Easton published Bank Top with GOST Books, signed copies are available to purchase via his website. Following his solo presentation in Somerset House Easton’s presentation will travel across the UK as part of a double header exhibition presented alongside one of his projects Thatcher’s Children. www.craigeaston.com

PABLO ALBARENGA
Pablo Albarenga (Montevideo, 1990) is a documentary photographer and visual storyteller exploring human rights issues in Latin America. Albarenga is a National Geographic Explorer and a Pulitzer Center Grantee.  As a photographer, he has dedicated his work to investigating, studying, and photographing the colonisation process that is still affecting traditional populations in Latin America. Many communities are being threatened by huge development projects who aim to exploit the natural resources available in their territories, such as minerals, wood, and extensive agriculture. www.pabloalbarenga.com

About World Photography Organisation
The World Photography Organisation is a leading global platform dedicated to the development and advancement of photographic culture. Our programming and competition initiatives provide valuable opportunities for artists working in photography and help broaden the conversation around their work. Through our fairs we play a key role in driving the growth of the contemporary art market for photo-based art and deepening audience engagement with the medium. The World Photography Organisation’s portfolio includes: the Sony World Photography Awards, one of the world’s biggest photography competitions, PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai the leading fair in Asia Pacific dedicated to photo-based and digital artworks and Photo London the international fair held annually at Somerset House, London. www.worldphoto.org

About Sony Electronics Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.
Based in Singapore, Sony Electronics Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It serves as the regional management and marketing headquarters for Sony’s consumer as well as broadcasting and professional products, overseeing Asia, Middle East and Africa regions. For more information on Sony’s products and services in Asia Pacific, please visit www.sony-asia.com

About Sony Corporation
Sony Corporation is responsible for the Electronics Products & Solutions (EP&S) business in the Sony Group. With the vision of “continuing to deliver Kando and Anshin to people and society across the world through the pursuit of technology and new challenges,” Sony will create products and services in areas such as home entertainment & sound, imaging, and mobile communications. For more information, visit: www.sony.net

IMAGE CREDITS
LEFT TO RIGHT:
Photograph by Stephanie Solano and Adam Ferguson
Photograph by Edwardo Benavides and Adam Ferguson
Photograph by America Yanira Lopez and Adam Ferguson

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