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  • Light and Shadows: The 2023 Leica Oskar Barnack Award Exhibition “Light and Shadows” is the poignant theme for this year's...

    Light and Shadows:

    The 2023 Leica Oskar Barnack Award Exhibition

     

    “Light and Shadows” is the poignant theme for this year's Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA) Exhibition. The title encapsulates the duality of brightness and darkness inherent in our world. Despite the contrasting elements, humanity perseveres with hope, actively pursuing a better world and life. This enduring pursuit finds expression through the lenses of photographers with Leica cameras in their hands.
     
    Ismail Ferdous, the winner of LOBA this year, presents the “Sea Beach” series, portraying the nuanced interaction between human and nature, as well as rich humanity captured by cameras throughout this interaction. His series, characterized by the Bengali people's affection for vibrant orange, not only stands as a national symbol but also creates a vivid juxtaposition against the sea and sky. It becomes a representation of the collective imagination for the future. On the other hand, LOBA Newcomer winner Le Ziyi’s portrait series reveals the life attitudes of young generation confronting harsh realities. However, the captured moments of relaxation and expressions of bewilderment do not signify a fixed state. These young souls are momentarily pausing to recalibrate their life goals. Though these two photographers capture different aspects of life, environmental atmospheres, and the essence of living, their works are united by keen and profound observations of humanity. Eric Bouvet captures nature’s ever-changing yet monumental aspects using a historical photographic procedure. His work is a visual elegy, lamenting the disappearing glaciers of the Alps and serving as a stark warning about human's confrontation with severe climate crises. In contrast, Gustavo Minas’ street photography presents major cities as a dynamic stage for human activities, seamlessly integrating people with the urban environment and creating a surreal cityscape. Despite hailing from diverse corners of the globe, these four photographers engage with varied subjects and themes. While their artistic concepts, visual language and photographic techniques may differ, they share a common pursuit: showcasing concerns for human life and environmental awareness. Through their diverse works, one can affirm that the pursuit and yearning for a life with dignity remain constant despite the differences in global realities and living conditions. Photography emerges as a vital medium, witnessing and affirming humanity's noble aspirations.
     
    This exhibition marks the debut of LOBA award-winning works at the Jimei x Arles International Photography Festival, a significant Chinese photography festival with broad international influence. This signifies a promising start, and we also anticipate more opportunities in the future, fostering more communication between Chinese photographers and enthusiasts and outstanding photographers worldwide.
     
    Text By Gu Zheng
  • ARTIST: Eric Bouvet Born in Paris in 1961, Bouvet studied Art and Graphic Design at the École Estienne in Paris....
    Portrait of Eric Bouvet ©Cerise Bouvet

    ARTIST: Eric Bouvet

     

    Born in Paris in 1961, Bouvet studied Art and Graphic Design at the École Estienne in Paris. He began his photographic career working for the Gamma Agency in the eighties; and, since 1990, he has travelled the world working as a freelancer in crisis regions. His photography has received numerous distinctions, including five World Press Awards and two Visa d’Or Awards. Since 2011, he has been working on documentary projects, using large-format cameras. Bouvet lives in Paris and Saint-Jean-de-Luz in the Basque region.

  • ARTIST: Ismail Ferdous Ismail Ferdous was born in Bangladesh, in 1989, and currently lives between New York City and Bangladesh....
    Portrait of Ismail Ferdous ©Danielle Amy

    ARTIST: Ismail Ferdous

     
    Ismail Ferdous was born in Bangladesh, in 1989, and currently lives between New York City and Bangladesh. He is a member of the Agence VU’ in Paris, and his work is committed to social, cultural and humanitarian themes. He first got involved with photography while studying at business school in Dhaka. Following the collapse of the Rana Plaza clothing factory in Dhaka in 2013, one of the worst industrial disasters in Bangladeshi history, which killed more than 1,100 workers, Ferdous made a powerful photographic statement. His documentary film and photo projects, “The Cost of Fashion” and “After Rana Plaza”, brought to light the devastating effects of the “fast fashion” industry. His photography has also dealt with the issue of migration and flight on four continents. Ferdous works for the most important newspapers and magazines, and his work has received many awards.
  • ARTIST: Gustavo Minas Born in Cássia, Brazil, Minas studied Journalism at the University of Londrina, and photography with Carlos Moreira....
    Portrait of Gustavo Minas ©Ale Ruaro

    ARTIST: Gustavo Minas

     

    Born in Cássia, Brazil, Minas studied Journalism at the University of Londrina, and photography with Carlos Moreira. He has been working as a street photographer since 2009. In 2017, his “Bus Station” earned him the POY Latam award in the Future of Cities category. His work has received many awards and has been widely exhibited. His first book, “Maximum Shadow Minimal Light” was published in 2019 by Edition Lammerhuber. Minas lives in Brasília.

  • ARTIST: Le Ziyi Le Ziyi was born in Fujian, in 1993, and currently lives and works as a freelance photographer...

    Portrait of Le Ziyi ©️Le Ziyi

    ARTIST: Le Ziyi

     

    Le Ziyi was born in Fujian, in 1993, and currently lives and works as a freelance photographer in Yunnan. He began his LOBA project in October 2020, when he had moved to Hangzhou for professional reasons, but became bored with the routine of his job. This incited him to develop this portrait series of his own generation.

  • CURATOR: Gu Zheng Curator, Critic. Born in Shanghai in 1959, Gu Zheng is currently a member of Fudan University, holding...
    Portrait of Gu Zheng

    CURATOR: Gu Zheng

     

    Curator, Critic.
     
    Born in Shanghai in 1959, Gu Zheng is currently a member of Fudan University, holding positions as a professor at the School of Journalism, a researcher at the Center for Information and Communication Studies, and the Deputy Director at the Visual Culture Research Center. In 1998, he graduated from the Department of Human Culture Studies at Osaka Prefecture University in Japan with a Ph.D. He was a Harvard-Yenching Visiting Scholar in 2017-2018 and the 9th Heinz Götze Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Heidelberg in 2019.
     
    Professor Gu focuses mainly on 20th-century modern art, contemporary Chinese documentary photography, visual culture, image communication research, and photography history. He is the author of the following works: Chinese Contemporary Photographic Art (2011, Chinese and French), Photographers on the Road (2013, Taipei), The Most Essential Things We Need to Know about Photography (2016), A Fairy Tale without a Happy Ending: War, Propaganda and Images (2017), From Shanghai - Photography Modernity Verification (2017), How Do They Accept Photography (2018), Expression of the City (2020), and Chinese Contemporary Photography (2022), among others. He is also the editor-in-chief of Selected Paper on Western Photography (2005), Photography, Society, Space (2010), and Theory of Chinese Photography (edited, 2013).
     
    Gu Zheng won the Golden Statue Award for China Photography (Theoretical Review) (2001) and the first Sha Fei Photography Award Academic Award (2007). He was the finale jury member for World Press Photo in 2013. Gu Zheng served as the Art Director of the Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival from 2020 to 2022, and he is currently an Art Committee member of the festival in 2023.
  • Ismail Ferdous, “Fishermen at Cox’s Bazar Beach”, 2022. Giclee print. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Ismail Ferdous, “Lifeguards at Cox’s Bazar Beach”, 2020. Giclee print. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Le Ziyi, “A boy looking out through the window”, 2021, Hangzhou, China. Giclee print. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Le Ziyi, “A Chinese-Italian studying in China“, 2021, Hangzhou, China. Giclee print. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Gustavo Minas, “On an airplane between Brasília and São Paulo”, 2022, Brazil. Giclee print. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Gustavo Minas, “A man leaves the toilets at Marília bus station”, 2021, Brazil. Giclee print. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Eric Bouvet, “The Aiguille du Grépon”, 2022. Giclee print. Courtesy of the artist.

  • Eric Bouvet, “The Mer de Glace”, 2022. Giclee print. Courtesy of the artist.