The PHMuseum 2024 Women Photographers Granthas recognized outstanding talent in contemporary photography, awarding 5,000 to Iranian photographerSara Abbaspourfor her projectFloating Ocean, which explores Iran’s socio-political transformation through the interplay of spaces and their inhabitants.
On behalf of the jury,Gem Fletcherpraised the work:
Sara Abbaspours Floating Ocean charts a transitional moment in Irans socio-political landscape told through the relationship between spaces and their inhabitants.
Making poetry out of collisionstemporal and eternal, interior and exterior, familiar and peculiar, personal and political, seen and unseen, magic and mundane, imagined and experiencedAbbaspour conjures a complex and moving contemporary portrait of a society in an era of profound social transformation.Leveraging a collection of narrative threads, Abbaspour’s potent body of work reminds us to continually renew our perspectives, not only as a way of imagining but as a means of survival.
The 2,000 Second Prize went to American photographerLisa Elmaleh forTierra Prometida / Promised Land, an evocative exploration of life along the U.S.-Mexico border.Farah Al Qasimicommended her approach:
Lisa Elmaleh’s Tierra Prometida offers an attentive journey along the U.S. - Mexico border.
The region has long been a symbol of American exclusionary politics and border violence, but Elmaleh’s 8x10 view camera approach slows down the process of witnessing andinvites us into humanising moments with the many people whose livelihoods are defined by the wall’s presence.While technically beautiful, the photographs also feel timeless, which works to highlight the ongoing urgency of the border crisis in America and beyond.
I believe thatthis work straddles traditional reportage with narrative storytelling in a way that is both informative and emotionally striking.
Sara Faustino,A Home With No Roof
Bolivian photographerMarisol Mendezsecured the 1,000 Third Prize forPadre, a project weaving personal family history with broader reflections on masculinity.Danae Panchauddescribed it as:
Skilfully weaving personal family history over three generations with the broader social context of Latin America, Marisol Mendez’s ongoing project Padre isa delicate and thoughtful exploration of contemporary masculinity.Taking as its starting point letters from her grandfather to his sons, including her father, she sets out to examine and deconstruct how notions of masculinity are embedded in, and imposed on, individual, familial and collective identities.
Using hunting, a gesture of dominance, control and strength as her framework, Mendez producesa nuanced narrative, imbued with a determined softness countering its expected violence.
The 2,000New Generation Prizewas awarded to Swiss photographerSara Faustino forA Home With No Roof.Pixy Liaoremarked:
Sara Faustino’s project A Home With No Roof brilliantly uses a 1:15 scale model of a house to explore the dysfunctionality within her home.
By immersing herself in this miniature worldincorporating scaled-down everyday objects, sculptures of body parts, and striking juxtapositions of sizeshe transforms the apartment into a monstrous entity while positioning herself as both subject and object within the space.Her imagery vividly conveys a sense of discomfort and awkwardness, evoking the emotional experiences of her younger self.Through this process, Sara not only invites the audience to empathise with her journey but alsouses art as a medium to reflect on and reconcile with her past.
Sara Faustino,A Home With No Roof
Honourable mentions for the Main Prize include projects byLisa Gervassi, Robin Crookall, Joana Dionisio, Pia Guilmoth, Stacy Kranitz, and Marens Van Leunen.Cheryl Mukherji, Charley Tengbergen, and Yixi Tianwere recognized for the New Generation Prize.
Marens van Leunen,Helmersstraat
Lisa Gervassi, L’Amour Amor
Robin Crookall,My Favorite Shapes
Stacy Kranitz,After A Denied Abortion
Joana Dionisio,Everything Is Uncomfortable When the Earth Shakes
Charley Tengbergen,Based On A True Story
Cheryl Mukherji,Wanted Beautiful Home Loving Girl
Yixi Tian,Veiled By Cloud And Mist
Additional highlights includePia GuilmothsFlowers Drink The River, selected for aVogue Italiafeature by Alessia Glaviano, andLucija RoscsHeirloom, awarded a solo exhibition at PhMuseum Lab for its profound exploration of memory and heritage.
Pia Guilmoths,Flowers Drink The River
Six artists received portfolio reviews from PhMuseum mentors, supporting the development of their promising projects.
Sara Faustino,A Home With No Roof
Sara Faustino,A Home With No Roof
Marens van Leunen,Helmersstraat
Lisa Gervassi, L’Amour Amor
Robin Crookall,My Favorite Shapes
Stacy Kranitz,After A Denied Abortion
Joana Dionisio,Everything Is Uncomfortable When the Earth Shakes
Charley Tengbergen,Based On A True Story
Cheryl Mukherji,Wanted Beautiful Home Loving Girl
Yixi Tian,Veiled By Cloud And Mist
Pia Guilmoth’s,Flowers Drink The River
