KLPHOTOAWARDS 2010 : UPDATES

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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.


Ah Gu, 2009	Blk 160 Hunch Back Granny


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?"

"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.)

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 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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