A monument in Lisbon to Portuguese emigrants to Brazil, most of whom became plantation and slave owners. ‘Vast legions of slaves came from Africa to provide the sugar king with the large and free labour force he demanded: human fuel to burn. The lands were devastated by this selfish plant that invaded the New World,’ From The Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano
Series Name: Reclaiming the Truth: Deconstructing Colonial Museums and Public Spaces
Series Description: A collaboration between two practitioners – a photojournalist and a photographic artist – created by manipulating photographs of traditional colonial objects in museum and public spaces through ‘corrupt processes’ of restoration techniques. Materials such as gold leaf, varnish, wax-resin, archival glue, spit, polish and lacquering have been applied to large format negatives that are juxtaposed with the original documentation, subverting the notion of fixing or restoring. The resulting works are presented as diptychs, with the images paired with critical text quoted from a range of influential research sources. The photographers explain ‘the goal of this intervention is to challenge the toxic inheritance of the plunder of the colonial era by the agents of former imperial powers who took and sold their bounty to museums and private collections. Many of those relics are now the subject of a worldwide debate on reparation and restitution, a conversation that this project is aspiring to join.’
Prestiżowy tytuł Fotografa Roku 2025 przyznano znanemu brytyjskiemu fotografowi Zedowi Nelsonowi za cykl The Anthropocene Illusion (Złudzenie antropocenu). Zwycięzca otrzymał nagrodę pieniężną w wysokości 25 000 dolarów, cyfrowy sprzęt fotograficzny firmy Sony oraz możliwość zaprezentowania dodatkowych prac na wystawie Sony World Photography Awards 2026.
