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JUNE
2010
29/06/10
ANNOUNCEMENT
The KL PHOTOAWARDS Contemporary Photographic Portrait
competition, now in its second year, has just completed
its public
exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, and will be heading south
to Singapore in ...August 2010 for the first time
since its inaugural launch in 2009.
The travelling exhibition will include 50 finalists
portraits.
This
exhibition will provide an opportunity for locals
to see the entries, especially the large percentage
of entries received from
Singapore, including the several Finalists, Winners
and Judges who hail from here.The 2010 Awards which
closed in April received close to 1,700 entries
from 38 countries and is truly a global event. Seeking
the best interpretations of the contemporary photographic
portrait in two open
categories : Individual and Story, the Awards attempts
to bring together photographic practitioners within
studio, photojournalism, documentary
and conceptual genres to discover a common theme,
that is :"Portraying people with emphasis on
their identity as individuals in
relation to their surroundings, status and humanity."
This
year's Winners are :
Individual
Category
1st
: Max Pinckers, Belgium : The Girl with the Golden
Curls (from
Transitions series)
2nd : Christopher Zedano, USA : Jeff (from IntimateNYC
series)
3rd : Andrew Ng, Singapore : Kenny
Series
Category
1st
: Aglaé Bory, France : Corrélations
2nd : Rachel Lim, Singapore : The Scene
3rd : Diego Ravier, France : Theater of LifePeople's
Choice Vote winner : Courtney Barton, Malaysia : Technicolor
Dreamcoat
Accompanying
the exhibition will be a 100 page colour catalogue
available for purchase. The finalist portraits are
also available for
sale, in limited editions. To enter the competition
in 2011, please visit www.klphotoawards.com or contact
info@klphotoawards.com to register your interest.
Exhibition Dates
05.08 – Opening (for invited guests
only)
06.08 – 21.08 Exhibition
FOST
GALLERY, 65 Kim Yam Road, Singapore 239366
info@fostgallery.com www.fostgallery.com
Background
The
objective of the Awards is two-fold. Firstly, it hopes
to attract the very best entries in contemporary photographic
portraiture globally, and secondly, to provide a platform
for aspiring and emerging photographers in the region
to compete in an international
level.
Contemporary
portraits have evolved into a genre close to fine
art in the West, although its position is relatively
fresh within the S E Asian
context. However, it is hoped that the Awards will
change this viewpoint and generate an increasing awareness
amongst both practicing
and hobbyist photographers in the region. In 2010,
a new Portrait Story category was added which attracted
some excellent work in this genre,
covering conceptual, journalistic as well as documentary
fields.
"I
am astounded by the quality, breadth and dynamism
of the entries, and although only in its second year,
the KL PHOTOAWARDS have attracted
entries from as far as Mexico, Argentina, USA, and
also from countries in Europe, Slovenia, Kazakhstan
and Russia. In 2010, we also received a
good number of entries from the Indian subcontinent.
They have certainly stretched the thinking caps of
our judges." - Steven Lee, Project Director
Acceptance
message from Max Pinckers, 20th May 2010 :
(Incidentally,
Max's Transitions Series was awarded the 'Le Soir'
prize in this year's 16th Prix National Photographie
Ouverte presented by the
Muse de la Photographie in Charleroi, Belgium)
"Dear
all,
I’m
very sorry I could not make it tonight. I wish I could
have given this talk in person.Someone recently asked
me the question: “If somehow, all the pictures
you have ever taken up until now would be destroyed,
forever gone, but you could save one of them, only
one, which one would it be?”
My
answer was “The Girl With the Golden Curls”.
After
four years and thousands of images, this is the single
image that lies so close to my heart, it’s the
only image I truly love.
Why? I cannot explain… Maybe because of the
pureness in which the concept is given form, maybe
because of the feeling I get when I see the picture,
maybe because she is anonymous, maybe because I wonder
what she might be thinking, maybe because I have made
her mine, and only mine, maybe
because she is now eternal. It
is an artist’s greatest satisfaction to make
something that he loves so much, something so personal,
and have other
people appreciate this. I would like to thank the
KL Photoawards for this fantastic prize and their
great initiative. Congratulations to all
the other photographers taking part in this exhibition!
Thank you, Max"
www.klphotoawards.com
April
2010
13/04/10
We
are very proud to announce that KL PHOTOAWARDS have
teamed up with J&A IMAGING STATION SDN BHD in
Petaling Jaya, Selangor who will be printing all the
finalists exhibition print on Kodak material. J&A
are recognised as one of the HIGH-END DIGITAL COLOUR
PHOTOGRAPH PRINTING , DIGITAL INDOOR DURATRANS DISPLAY
FILM AND LARGE FORMAT INKJET PRINTER in the region
since its inception in 1999.
12/04/10
The judges met in
Kuala Lumpur this past weekend pouring over 1,650
individual portrait submissions from 38 countries!
After several rounds of eliminations, discussions
amongst the judges and much deliberation, the Final
40 Individual Portraits and Top 10 Story Portraits
have been decided. The entire judging process stretched
over both days and 15+ hours. The final placings had
been a tough fight between two or three contenders.
The shortlists will
be released on the 17th April, including the People's
Choice Vote. We will only announce the Prize Winners
in each category on teh 20th May evening, the start
of the exhibition at The Annexe.
10/02/10
Matt Richards, the British artist sculptor has began
his creation of the 2010 trophies. We photographed
him in his tiny workspace mixing the resin gel and
layering the mold with fibreglass.





January 2010
21/01/10

KL PHOTOAWARDS 2009
FLASHBACK!
In the run up to
the KL PHOTOAWARDS 2010, we are proud to bring to
you the KL PHOTOAWARDS 2009 FlashBack! – A
reunion of the photographers who participated in last
year’s
competition, the finalists and the judges. The judges
attending will be Beverly Yong, Majidah Hashim, Lim
Chee Wah, and Pang Khee Teik.
The aim of this reunion
is for everyone involved in KL PHOTOAWARDS 2009 to
compare notes on the kinds of portrait photographs
we received last year. What we liked. What we found
funny. What we would really really really really really
like to see more of. The KL PHOTOAWARDS 2009 FLASHBACK!
will also be introducing a truly global (and scandalous!)
project called ABUSIDARTE. Originated in Rome, Italy,
ABUSIDARTE is based on the concept that if people won’t
go to the art, then the art will go to the people!
Kuala Lumpur will be the first city outside Rome to
perform this project.
Come with questions.
We like questions. Bring your camera. We like cameras.
This is a public event and is open to everyone, especially
you, yes you, thinking about participating in this
year’s KL PHOTOAWARDS 2010.
http://www.abusidarte.org
Date : Saturday 6th February 2010, 3-6 pm
Venue : The Annexe Gallery, Central Market, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia
15/01/10
We
are proud to announce a newest Media partner, LifeAndStyle.com.my.
Being the definitive
lifestyle online portal for Malaysia and the region,
LifeAndStyle.com.my brings to its readers the most
current lifestyle, events and entertainment information
in a slick, fresh and innovative website providing
a blend of international and locally produced content.
Content 'Channels' cover Wine & Dine, Entertainment,
Travel, Health
& Wellness, People and Style.
November
2009
WHAT ARE THEY UP
TO?
KL
PHOTOAWARDS wanted to know what the 2009
winners were up to so we sent an email to the 6 winners
asking them to share their current projects if any.
NIKT
WONG "doesn't have any visuals to illustrate
what he has been up to for the moment but is doing
lots of reading." "Books about contemporary
art and technology, issues to do with capitalism and
the finer details of Photoshop."
ALECIA NEO
continues
to work in the genre of Portraiture, both editorially
and for her personal work. Her latest body of work,
Home Visits has received a Honorable
Mention in the 2009 Berenice Abbot Prize
by juror Tim B. Wride, Curator of the Department of
Photographs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Since
the awards in May 2009, Alecia has also participated
in 2 group shows. The Air Conditioned Recession,
at Valentine Willie Fine Arts in Singapore, alongside
established artists such as Amanda Heng, Jason Lim
and Tang Da Wu and Paradise Lost: New Photo-Documentary
Works. Curated by emerging photographer Robert
Zhao, this exhibition feature the works of Alecia
Neo, Ang Song Nian, Eiffel Chong, Liana Yang and Koh
Yee Ling – young photographers from Singapore
and the region brought together through an open call.
Collectively, their works explore the relationship
of time, space and light to the sense of ‘real-time’
continuity that characterises the category of documentary
photography.
©
2009 Alecia Neo : Home Visits series
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Ah
Gu, 2009 |
Blk
160 Hunch Back Granny |
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Wendy
and Mother |
Blk
152 Hearing Aid Volunteer |
WENDY
CHUI
is contemplating Life big time. She's in the midst
of developing a body of work titled Life Un-compromised.
She's exploring the issues surrounding the quality
of her own lifestyle (and perhaps, many other Singaporeans)
in Singapore. Wendy writes "It's ironic, that
in such a fast paced and materialistic country, the
quality of our lives would be compromised for better
homes, better salaries, better reputations, and maybe
better everything. The issue I'm exploring is whether
I'm compromising my liberty for opinions from others,
my time and passion for social standing, my morals
for recognition or my dignity for acceptance? Am I
truly striving for a better life?"

Candice 1 © Wendy Chui
2009
"I guess everyone
is compromising one or more aspects of their life
for something they think is better but in reality,
it may not be so. What if we can be encouraged to
live our lives un-compromised? If material acquisition
will eventually hit a limit... there is only so much
that we can have. If the intangible is a vastness
of limitless boundary... then can we live unlimited?
I wish I could better describe it using images but
the pictures are not fully conceived yet. I don't
really want to sound deep with big ideas, I just want
to work out my thoughts... Attached is just a working
sample of my project! The picture is a deliberation
between the inner self and the public self. (The subject
eventually takes a dip in the office pond.)
Self Portrait © Wendy
Chui 2009
CARLO
GIANFERRO Since May Carlo's been mainly involved
in the realization of his book Gypsy
Interiors focussing on Roma communities
in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, a project
that won him 1st Prize at the World Press
Photo Awards 2009. The book was edited this
September by Italian Postcart in two languages, Italian
and English.

© Carlo Gianferro
Carlo
writes "I've also started a long-term project
on the aftermath of the terrible earthquake we had
in Italy at l'Aquila city last April and also, I'm
working for an imminent project on Israeli and Palestine.
The images of Mozambique that won
2nd Prize at the KL Photoawards 2009
are still in my heart, I hope I will have the opportunity
to go back to Africa in 2010 to continue the project."
Sarah
Lim's winning
portrait of her daughter continues
to receive praise .."Sarah Lim's Make Believe
was an alluring image of fantasy, spectacle
and identity..." Eva McGovern, C-Arts magazine
vol.10, but since then, she has also been trying
her hand at some more active subjects.


"Since
May life has been fairly chaotic so I haven't
done any real projects as such. I did have
a go at entering the Asia Without Borders competition
but did not make the second round. One of the subjects
was wildlife, so as I live in Sabah it was a good
opportunity to try some animal and plant photography.
I was also tempted to try bird photography but after
sitting for 3 hours in a mangrove swamp and producing
two out of focus images of a kingfisher, I decided
to leave that to those who can carry the gigantic
600mm lenses! I have also been learning a lot on
Photoshop. I use it only to enhance the photos, much
as you would in a darkroom as I do not like the artificial
look of some manipulated pictures. All this enthusiasm
is thanks to entering the KLPA competition and I
would advise anyone to have a go at the next
one. It has raised my game considerably."
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