Maija Tammi was awarded Third Prize and the £5,000
John Kobal New Work Award .
Tammi’s photograph portrays Erica, an android from Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratories.
One of Them Is a Human #1 is part of a broader series which presents androids alongside one human and asks questions about what it means to be alive. The photograph was taken at Ishiguro Laboratory, Department of Systems Innovation at Osaka University, in an experiment room where researchers work with Erica. “I had half an hour with Erica and a young researcher in which to take the photograph. The researcher told me that Erica had said that she finds Pokemon Go scarier than artificial intelligence.”
The
John Kobal New Work Award is given to a photographer under thirty-five whose work has been selected for the
Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition. The winner receives a cash prize of £5,000 to include undertaking a commission to photograph a sitter connected with the UK film industry for the Gallery’s Collection.
The annual
Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition is one of the most prestigious photography awards in the world and showcases new work that has been submitted by some of the most exciting contemporary photographers. Since the international competition began in 1993, it has remained a hugely important platform for portrait photographers and offers an unparalleled opportunity for celebrated professionals, emerging artists and amateurs alike. The competition is in its tenth year of sponsorship by Taylor Wessing.
Maija is a Finnish artist, with a background in photojournalism, whose photographs engage with science and aesthetics and look at concepts around immortality. Tammi’s work has been exhibited in Europe, North America and Asia. She regularly works with scientists and is currently finishing her studio-art-based doctoral thesis. East Wing premiered Maija's series, White Rabbit Fever in September 2016 at Unseen Photo Fair in Amsterdam.
This is the first time that an artist has one a Taylor Wessing Portrait Award and the John Kobal New Work Award simultaneously.
White Rabbit Fever has just been published by
Bromide Books.
