Published Thursday 15 April 2021 at 16:40
The World Photography Organisation has announced the overall winners in the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards 2021, including portraits taken in Blackburn’s Bank Top by Craig Easton.
The Photographer of the Year title and accompanying $25,000 (USD) cash prize and a range of Sony’s digital imaging kit is awarded to the esteemed documentarian Craig Easton for his series Bank Top.
Bank Top, a collaboration with writer and academic Abdul Aziz Hafiz, examines the representation and misrepresentation of communities in northern England, focusing on the tightknit neighbourhood of Bank Top in Blackburn.
Bank Top is a result of the Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery initiative Kick Down the Barriers, a project instigated in response to media reports portraying the town as the ‘the most segregated in Britain’. Seeking to challenge this narrative, the museum invited artists and writers to collaborate with residents of various neighbourhoods and create a robust and authentic representation of their communities.
Over the course of a year Easton and Hafiz worked closely with local inhabitants to explore their stories and experiences through a series of black & white portraits and accompanying texts. These highlight issues around social deprivation, housing, unemployment, immigration and representation, as well as the impact of past and present foreign policy. Their work counters simplistic generalisations and aims to provide context as to how these communities came together and a better understanding of how they thrive together now.
Mike Trow, Chair of the 2021 Professional competition says: “What is so impressive about this project is the intent, dedication and understanding Craig brings to it. He has worked closely with the writer Abdul Aziz Hafiz to create a complete piece, tacitly acknowledging that for a project as sensitive as this words matter. These are not people who necessarily asked to be photographed but Craig gained their trust. They look frankly to camera and we see a mutual understanding between documenter and subject. It is the moral weight behind this work that makes it so important and deserving of this prize.”
Commenting on his win Easton said: “I am delighted to have this work recognised by the Sony World Photography Awards and to have won Photographer of the Year. I’m especially pleased that it is my work made here in the North West that is recognised. With my friend and colleague Abdul Aziz Hafiz and the great team at Blackburn Museum it is a privilege to be able to tell stories of Blackburn that challenge the stereotypes and the simplistic narratives imposed from afar and to try to represent the town in a positive light on the global stage. I photograph to learn, to try to understand and to document and share stories. It is a privilege to be able to do so and to challenge perceptions and stereotypes – something that is especially important to me. To have these stories from underrepresented or misrepresented communities in northern England where I live recognised and shared worldwide is wonderful. Thank you to all the people of Bank Top who so generously welcomed us into their community to tell their story.”
The winning work will be on show when Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery reopens on 19th May, covid restrictions permitting.
More about the project and work shown is available here Kick Down the Barriers.
MORE INFO
Photographer of the Year Craig Easton is an international multi award-winning photographer whose work is deeply rooted in the documentary tradition. He shoots long-term documentary projects exploring issues around social policy, identity and a sense of place. His work mixes portraiture, landscape and reportage approaches to storytelling, often working collaboratively with others to incorporate words, pictures and audio in a research-based practice that weaves a narrative between contemporary experience and history. www.craigeaston.com
PORTRAITURE WINNER: Craig Easton (United Kingdom) for his series Bank Top Finalists: 2nd place Julia Fullerton-Batten (United Kingdom); 3rd place Jane Hilton (United Kingdom)
DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS WINNER: Vito Fusco (Italy) for his series The Killing Daisy Finalists: 2nd place Craig Easton (United Kingdom); 3rd place Lorenzo Tugnoli (Italy)
WATCH
You can watch Konnie Huq announce the winners on a recorded YouTube award ceremony Winners announcement video: Sony World Photography Awards 2021 – YouTube
DOWNLOAD
You can register for a free digital copy of the Sony World Photography 2021 book to view and download via worldphoto.org/announcement-2021