André Kertész Hall

PRIX PICTET POWER IN HUNGARY

The Prix Pictet is the world’s largest photography prize in the field of sustainability, using photographs to convey messages of global significance to a widespread audience. For each cycle of the Prix Pictet there is a distinct sustainability theme. The theme for the fourth Prix Pictet is 'Power'.

At times a paradoxical topic, Power has the ability to portray both negative and positive aspects of human impact on the planet. Political power affects millions including future generations, while power of the natural world is awesome, beautiful and destructive.

The twelve photographers whose work will be shown at this exhibition are Robert Adams (United States), Daniel Beltrá (Spain/United States), Mohamed Bourouissa (Algeria/France), Philippe Chancel (France), Edmund Clark (United Kingdom), Carl De Keyzer (Belgium), Luc Delahaye (France), Rena Effendi (Azerbaijan), Jacqueline Hassink (The Netherlands), An-My Lê (United States/Vietnam), Joel Sternfeld (United States) and Guy Tillim (South Africa).

The Prix Pictet has two elements: the prize of CHF 100,000 awarded to a shortlisted photographer and the Commission, in which a nominated photographer is invited to undertake a field trip to a region where the Bank is supporting a sustainability project.

French photographer Luc Delahaye won the fourth Prix Pictet and the British photographer Simon Norfolk was invited to undertake the fourth commission for which he will undertake a fieldtrip to Afghanistan with the support of the Swiss-based humanitarian organisation Medair. Speaking at the award ceremony in the Saatchi Gallery, London, guest of honour Lord Norman Foster of Thames Bank OM, said, “I think that the incredible thing about this series and about the award is really at a public level, at a lay level, we might ask 'what is sustainability?' You can interpret it in so many different ways – you can read an article in a newspaper, you can see a headline about Kyoto – but when you see these images, it really brings it home.”

Following the opening in London, the Power exhibition embarked on a global tour and has so far visited Munich and Paris. The exhibition at the Hungarian House of Photography will be the first time photographs by artists shortlisted for the prize have been shown in Hungary. The exhibition will run from 18 January - 24 February 2013 and will be open at Istanbul Modern at the end of January.