“Translation: 2019 the 11thThree Shadows Photography Award” successfully opened on April 6 at the beginning of a beautiful spring in Beijing. The winner of this year’s Three Shadows Photography Award is a duo – Liu Ke and Huang Huang, both from Chengdu, who received an 80,000 RMB prize. Zhang Lanpo won the Media Award, and Wang YingYing took away the TSPA Luo Bonian Award for Outstanding Photographer, which comes with 10,000 RMB.
The winners came from a field of 20 shortlisted artists, who all installed their work at Three Shadows as part of the accompanying exhibition.
Over 500 guests from China and abroad attended the opening, including Mr. Li Ge, chairman of the China Photographers Assocation; Mr. Ito Naoto, Counselor of the Information and Culture Centerof the Japanese embassy in China; Mr. Koichiro Takahashi, Director of the Japan Foundation in Beijing; Mr. Jean-Philippe Jutzi, head of Culture and Media Affairs for the Swiss embassy; and Mr. Jan Jerzy Malicki, Deputy Director of the Culture Service of the Polish embassy. Additional guests included Mr. Robert Lacombe, cultural counselor for the French embassy in China; Mr. Zhong Weixing, a photographer, art collector, and founder of the Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum; Mr. Wang Jun, founder of Light Society; and Ms. Lu Ni, executive director of the Xie Zilong Photography Museum.
In their opening speech, Three Shadows co-founders RongRong and inri thanked “friends from all walks of life, the international jury, artists, and the Three Shadows team who have contributed to this award. Every year for 11 years we have come together amidst the blooms of spring.”
Mr. Li Ge, Chairman of the China Photographers Association, expressed his pleasure at seeing so many young photographers. “This year marks the 180thanniversary of the invention of photography, giving us a more casual way to see the world and express our feelings artistically,” he said. “This year also marks the 100thanniversary of the May 4thMovement – a moment that symbolizes the collision and synthesis of diverse cultures. And it is also the 70thanniversary of the founding of the new China. We are always on the road of hope – photography is faith for us.
Mr. Marcel Feil, deputy director of Foam Fotografie Museum in Amsterdam, said this year’s entries exemplified a trend towards a diversity of approaches to photography, and that the wealth of ideas contained in the exhibition speaks to the continued evolution of Chinese photography.
The director and chief of Akaaka Art Publishing, Inc., Ms. Kimi Himeno, expressed her honor at being a part of the jury this year. “Through the selection, I have seen a lot of original and energetic Chinese works,” she said.“I hope there will be further exchanges and long-term growth in both Chinese and Japanese photography, and I look forward to more cooperation and exchanges in the future.”
Mr. Hai Jie, an independent curator and photography critic, said that due to the multi-step jury system for the Three Shadows Photography Award, many excellent works were not selected due to the limited number of places. “In this selection process,” he noted, “I found that young photographers have gone beyond the burden of media and can freely shuttle among various media to ask questions with a strong sense of inquiry.”
Mr. Peter Pfrunder, director and curator of the Fotostiftung Schweiz, said that “every time I come to China, I have new discoveries and feelings. This year I saw diversity, freedom and great potential in the work of artists who use new forms of expression.”
In addition, Mr. Pfunder spoke on behalf of the international jury and shared feelings about the works of Liu Ke & Huang Huang, the winners of the Three Shadows Photography Award:
“Liu Ke & Huang Huang's works are excellent. It took two years for them to collect more than 1,400 pieces, which is a very personal and private act of creation. In this process, Liu Ke & Huang Huang created a new photographic relationship, which is not only a discussion around a certain theme but also a mutual exploration and expression. In this process, the two photographers interact with each other, play games like children, and present themselves in the form of a diary, which is not only photography but also an installation full of details for the viewer.”
