Winners of the RPS 160th International Photography Exhibition
The Royal Photographic Society’s International Photography Exhibition will be on view at the Old Truman Brewery from Oct 13 to 16. This year’s winning work features low riders, barn animals and plastic bags
Now in it’s 160th year, the IPE is a touring exhibition that celebrates global photographic talent. From the thousands of entries, 100 photographs from 64 different photographers have been chosen to be a part of the show which opens at Photoblock, at the Old Truman Brewery in East London on October 13. During the course of the year, the exhibition will travel to various other parts of the country.
Work of all subjects and disciplines – everything from journalism to fine art, individual images and series – are evaluated together and four winners are chosen. Here is this year’s winning work:
Margaret Mitchell’s In This Place, Gold Award
In This Place is a series of portraits of Mitchell’s own family shot in their housing estate in Glasgow. The series takes an intimate look at one family, viewed as representatives of a particular socio-economic condition. The first time she photographed this set of family members was in 1994 for a series titled Family, now revisited in a sequel.
margaretmitchell.co.uk; @margaret.mitchell
Owen Harvey’s Lunatic Lowriders, Under 30s Gold Award
Most of Harvey’s work takes an inside look at subcultures and explores the theme of identity. This series was shot in New York, in a span of a few months, when the photographer completely immersed himself within a group of low riders, taking portraits of the group members and their surroundings.
RJ Kern’s The Unchosen Ones, Silver Award
The Unchosen Ones is a a series of 60 portraits shot at 10 county fairs in Minnesota in 2016. The entire series features posed portraits, similarly composed; owner looking straight into the camera and posing with their prized livestock. Quirky, and somewhat caught in time, these images tell the story of a certain type of rural community, competition and pride.
Wes Bell’s Snag, Bronze Awards
Discarded plastic bags caught in barded wire along the highways of Southern Alberta in Canada; this series was shot by Bell during a difficult personal time during his mother’s cancer diagnosis and treatment. Shredded plastic becomes a metaphor for “mortality, pain and death”.
