deutsche börse photography prize 2011

jim goldberg greece. lavrio. 2005. two detained afghani refugees point to the refrigerator on which they wrote (approximate translation) ‘the sea of sadness has no shore’.(their english translation is ‘in the open see(sic) dont have border’) lavrio detention center © jim goldberg / magnum photos

now in its fifteenth year, the deutsche börse photography prize, presented by the photographers’ gallery, london has just announced the four shortlisted finalists up for the 2011 prize: jim goldberg, elad lassry, thomas demand and roe ethridge. the award was originally set-up in 1996 by the gallery, and is a means of promoting and celebrating the best of international contemporary photography practices. since 2005 deutsche börse has sponsored the £30, 000 prize.

the work of the shortlisted winners will be on display from april 2nd to 30th, 2011, with the winner being announced on april 26th, 2011. the exhibition will be shown at ambika P3 at the university of westminster, 35 marylbone road, london NW1.

jim goldberg ukraine. 2006. larysa, 39 years old. (translation) I was a dancer and sold to a man who was a terrorist – he held a gun to my head. somehow I was rescued and escaped, but the fear has left scars on my heart. (and I will never be the same).’ © jim goldberg / magnum photos

jim goldberg (born 1953, USA) captures the everyday activities of those leading clandestine lives. through his work he documents such groups as san fransico’s young homeless or people fleeing their oppressed, violent and poverty stricken countries, to become ‘new immigrants’ in europe. goldberg is nominated for his exhibition ‘open see’ at the photographers’ gallery, london (october 16th, 2009 to january 31st, 2010).

elad lassry untitled (red bar), 2010 8 x 10 inches (20.3 x 25.4 cm) unique foil on C-printimage courtesy of david kordansky gallery

elad lassry’s (born 1977, israel) work touches on staged photography, pulling images from such sources as vintage magazines and re-appropriating them. lassry is nominated for his exhibition ‘elad lassry’ at the kunsthalle zürich (february 13th to april 25th, 2010).

elad lassry untitled (two purple bars), 2010 8 x 10 inches (20.3 x 25.4 cm) unique foil on C-printimage courtesy of david kordansky gallery

thomas demand ‘haltestelle’, 2009 C-print / diasec 240 x 330 cm © thomas demand / VG bild-kunst, bonn, pictoright, amsterdam

thomas demand (born 1964, germany) is known for his large-scale works, depicting 3D life-sized models of scenes that he builds from cardboard and paper and then destroys after photographing. he is nominated for his exhibition, ‘nationalgalerie’ at neue nationalgalerie, berlin (september 18th, 2009 to january 17th, 2010).

roe ethridge left: ‘cappy (mug shot)’, 2008, C-print, 34,25 x 27,5 inches, edition of 5 right: ‘cappy’, 2008, C-print, 34,25 x 27,5 inches, edition of 5 images courtesy of andrew kreps gallery

roe ethridge (born 1969, USA) combines the pre-fabricated perfection of stock photography, approaching his work in an ‘editorial’ manner. he is nominated for his solo exhibition at les recontres d’arles photography, 2010, france (july 3rd to september 19th, 2010).

roe ethridge ‘maya with column’, 2008 C-print 55 x 42 inches edition of 5 image courtesy of andrew kreps