The finnish photographer Esko Mnnikk has been awarded the ‘Deutsche Boerse Photography Prize 2008’.
The 30,000 prize rewards an international photographer for their significant contribution to the medium of photography during the past year. The prize showcases new talent and highlights the best ofinternational photography practice and is one of the most prestigious inthe world of photography.
Esko Mnnikk was awarded the Prize for the recent exhibition for hisretrospective Cocktails 1990 – 2007 at Millesgarden, Stockholm, Sweden.
A portraitist of isolation, Mnnikk documents with great humour, warmth and integrity the lives of those who inhabit the periphery. Cocktails featured a selection of portraits, still life and landscape photographs from series such as Finnish Series, Organized Freedom and Harmony Sisters. Shown in assorted wooden frames, found and weathered bytime, his images acquire a timeless, almost painterly quality.
Esko Mnnikk was chosen by jury members Els Barents, director, HuisMarseille, Jem Southam, photographer, Thomas Weski, chief curator, Haus der Kunst and Anne-Marie Beckmann, curator, Art Collection Deutsche Boerse.
The other shortlisted photographers in this years prize, each awarded3,000, are John Davies, Jacob Holdt and Fazal Sheikh.
“The four nominees on this years shortlist eschew the fashionable in favour of social and political engagement. Esko Mnnikks pictorialrisk-taking, combined with his poetic approach to dealing with universalissues such as alienation and identity, greatly impressed the 2008 jury. In his books and on the gallery walls, Mnnikk has successfully created an authentic and compelling new photographic vision that fuses social documentary and fine art,” says Brett Rogers, chair of the jury and director of The Photographers Gallery.
“As title sponsor, we are very proud to see how the ‘Deutsche Boerse Photography Prize’ has evolved into one of the most prestigious and important award for contemporary photography. The prize reflects the variety of photography in an individual and excellent way and stands for high quality. The prize plays a key role in our commitment to the medium. We congratulate Esko Mnnikk,” adds Alexandra Hachmeister, in charge of Corporate Responsibility for Deutsche Boerse.