As it prepares for its seventh edition, Photo London has announced British photographer Nick Knight will be the seventh recipient of the Photo London Master of Photography Award that will take place at Somerset House in May 2022. The award is presented every year to a living artist who has made an exceptional contribution to photography.
Commenting on the emerging seventh edition, Photo London’s Founders, Michael Benson and Fariba Farshad said: ‘We are excited to see a strong edition taking shape and very much look forward to announcing the full details of the Fair in March. We are particularly delighted that a number of US based collectors and galleries who were not able to travel to the UK for the Fair in September will return to London in May. Amongst them will be Peter Fetterman from LA whose book The Power of Photography – based on his inspirational series of daily postings during the pandemic – will be launched at the Fair with a special booth based on the Fetterman collection.
And once again our public programme will present an outstanding series of talks and exhibitions. Chief amongst them will be two exhibitions that celebrate the power of photography to challenge boundaries and change perceptions. For over three decades Nick Knight has operated at the forefront of innovation. He has developed a reputation for pushing boundaries technically and creatively at every opportunity. He has consistently challenged conventional notions of beauty and throughout his career has worked on a range of often controversial issues — including racism, disability, ageism, and more recently fat-ism. All of this makes him the perfect choice as this year’s Master of Photography.’
As well as featuring many iconic images from Knight’s career as one of the world’s most influential and visionary photographers, the exhibition will also feature his work in film and sculpture.
Commenting about his award and upcoming exhibition Nick Knight said:
‘My quest has always been to use photography to show me things I could not see. Photography has been my passport into life, giving me access to people from all backgrounds and walks of life. The same skill set has allowed me to create films, sculptures, and now even virtual versions of our world and ourselves.
From politics to AI I have been able to use the voice that photography gave me to present a vision of our future and find new ways of seeing the world. It’s a great honour to be given this award and I would like to use this occasion to demonstrate my enthusiasm for the future of image-making, and how incredibly important to realise it’s our purpose to show the world not just who we are but also who we want to be.’
Nick Knight is well known for his groundbreaking creative collaborations with leading designers including Yohji Yamamoto, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. Advertising campaigns for clients such as Christian Dior, Tom Ford, Lancôme, Swarovski, Levi Strauss, Calvin Klein and Yves Saint Laurent, as well as award-winning editorials for publications including W, British Vogue, Paris Vogue, Dazed & Confused, AnOther, Another Man and i-D. Knight made fashion history in November 1993 by adapting ring-flash photography to capture Linda Evangelista for a landmark, post-grunge cover of British Vogue. Since then, his work has graced no fewer than 36 covers of the magazine.
Knight’s work has also featured on record covers for David Bowie, Paul Weller, George Michael and Massive Attack. More recently he has produced videos for Björk (Pagean Poetry), Lady Gaga (Born This Way) and Kanye West (Bound 2). His work has been widely exhibited at institutions such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, Saatchi Gallery, the Photographers Gallery, the Hayward Gallery, and recently at the Tate Modern and the Natural History Museum in London.
Photo London
Now in its seventh edition, Photo London has established itself as a world-class photography fair and as a catalyst for London’s dynamic photography community. From the capital’s major museums to its auction houses, galleries large and small, right into the burgeoning creative communities in the East End and South London, Photo London harnesses the city’s outstanding creative talent and brings together the world’s leading photographers, curators, exhibitors, dealers and the public to celebrate photography, the medium of our time.
The Master of Photography Award
Nick Knight is the seventh photographer to receive the Master of Photography Award. He joins Sebastiao Salgado (2015), Don McCullin (2106), Taryn Simon (2017) Edward Burtynsky (2018), Stephen Shore (2019), Shirin Neshat (2021).
Photos: Courtesy of Photo London 2022
Source: Photo London 2022
https://photolondon.org/