John Stezaker wins ‘Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2012’

The Photographers’ Gallery awarded John Stezaker the ‘Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2012’ in London on Monday, 3 September 2012. The annual award comes with prize money of GBP 30,000 and recognises a photographer who has made an important contribution to contemporary photography in Europe in the previous 12 months.

This year’s prize winner was chosen from four finalists by an international jury whose membership changes annually and which was headed by Brett Rogers, director of The Photographers’ Gallery. The members of this year’s jury were: François Hébel, director Les Rencontres d'Arles; Martin Parr, artist; Beatrix Ruf, director/curator of Kunsthalle Zürich and Anne-Marie Beckmann, curator of the Art Collection Deutsche Börse, Germany.

The remaining finalists for this year's prize, Pieter Hugo (b. 1976, South Africa), Rinko Kawauchi (b. 1972, Japan), John Stezaker (b. 1949, UK) and Christopher Williams (b. 1956, USA), were each awarded GBP 3,000.

John Stezaker said: “I would like to thank The Photographers’ Gallery for their support throughout the nomination period and the Whitechapel Gallery for hosting the nominated exhibition. Winning the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize today is a great honour, and being part of the exhibition has been a wonderful opportunity to showcase my work alongside other artists whose work I respect.”

Brett Rogers, non-voting Chair of the Jury and Director of The Photographers’ Gallery said, on behalf of the jury: “The Jury recognized John Stezaker’s outstanding achievement spanning a period of more than thirty years, exploring the subversive force of the found image. Compelling and disruptive, Stezaker’s work has been influential on a new generation of image-makers who have been inspired by his unswerving commitment to his practice. Within the vastness of today’s image flow, Stezaker has managed to resurrect the power and uncanny mystery inherent in the still image using traditional photographic strategies, most especially collage.”

 “Once again, the four finalists of the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize have shown important, interesting approaches that reflect the complexity of the European photography scene. We are particularly pleased that the exhibition was presented in the impressive recently reopened premises of Photographers’ Gallery and congratulate this year's winner John Stezaker,” said Julia Taeschner, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Deutsche Börse.

Deutsche Börse has been main sponsor of this renowned photographic prize since 2005. It was set up by The Photographers’ Gallery in London in 1996 with the aim of promoting the best works of contemporary photography. The primary focus is on promoting young talent and recognising excellent examples of international photographic art. The previous winners of the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize are: Jim Goldberg (2011), Sophie Ristelhueber (2010) Paul Graham (2009), Esko Männikö (2008), Walid Raad/ the Atlas Group (2007), Robert Adams (2006) and Luc Delahaye (2005).

Works by the four finalists will be on display in the Photographers’ Gallery in London until 9 September 2012. The exhibition may subsequently be viewed at Deutsche Börse headquarters in Frankfurt from 14 September to 25 October 2012 as well as at C/O Berlin, International Forum for Visual Dialogues from 3 November to 13 January 2013.

About Deutsche Börse Group:
Deutsche Börse Group is one of the world's leading stock exchange companies and a long-time sponsor of photographic art. The Group owns a large collection of contemporary photography in the form of the Art Collection Deutsche Börse, which is exhibited at the company’s main locations in Frankfurt and Luxembourg. The Art Collection meanwhile comprises a collection of works by more than 80 international artists. Further information on the collection is available at www.deutsche-boerse.com/art