6 Winning Artists Take on Modern Photography

Last year, Rise Art launched a global artist of the year competition to discover exceptional contemporary artists working around the world. Hailing from all corners of the globe, six finalists on our Rise Art Prize shortlist use photography as their toolbox to express a myriad of emotions and styles. Today we put a lens on each to further inspect their practices, and to see what makes them winners.

 

1. Àsìkò, UK

London-based Asiko taps into his Nigerian roots to create a body of gorgeous photographs that toe the lines between portraiture and cultural documentation. The Lagos native’s pieces portray the woman as strong; literally in physique and figuratively in stance and a projection of confidence. His monochromatic metallic prints celebrate form as much as they do heritage and tradition.

 

Iro by Àsìkò

 

2. Vikram Kushwah, UK

Vikram’s ethereal fashion photography has his work appearing regularly in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle. His fine art photography captures the same magic and mystery, often playing with perception and proportion to create truly fantastical imagery that feels from an alternate time or dimension.

 

Emily Behind the Book Door by Vikram Kushwah

 

3. Jenny Boot, Europe

Hailing from The Netherlands, Jenny transitioned from painting to photography for its more controlled precision and accuracy when creating her tableaus. 

 

Revenge by Jenny Boot

 

With an Old Master’s eye for lighting, she creates almost Surreal portraits and tableaus in which beauty is mixed with an ominous undertone, creating images that at first glance read as paintings. Her exquisite use of lighting makes for timeless portraits that are akin to masterworks lifted from art history.

 

4. Lebohang Kganye, Middle east & africa

The South African photographer - and our 2018 Rise Art Prize Global Artist of the Year - rethinks traditional photography, by introducing sculpture, installation and performance into the frame. 

 

Re palame tereneng e fosahetseng by Lebohang Kganye

 

Her black and white images explore the way family photo albums can betray and contort history through memory and personal interpretation. The resulting photographs are a fusion of assemblage and photograph which invite viewers to project their own family narrative onto them.

 

5. Mitra Tabrizian, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

The Iranian-British artist and filmmaker comes from an impressive background - having shown at incredible institutions like the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Smithsonian and LACMA.

 

Leicestershire by Mitra Tabrizian

 

Her photographs, which are often film stills, are at once lonely, heartbreaking, and humanized images of familiar urban scenes of disrepair. Focusing on nomadic city dwellers and forgotten or abandoned architecture, her pieces show a lonely side of urban living.

 

6. Gina Soden, UK

We recently focused on Gina’s photographs of the beauty in architectural decay. Her gorgeous work gives viewers a first hand account of her ambitious explorations from the comfort and safety of their own domains. Check out a more in-depth look at our Rise Art Prize Patrón Tequila UK Artist of the Year and Photography Award winner in this interview. 

 

Schody by Gina Soden

 

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