SELECTION, EDITION #11
Winners, finalists and mentions of the eleventh edition of the Los Angeles Photography Awards are listed below.
WHO WE ARE, OUR WORLD
WINNER
“The Year I Wasn’t There” by Kicca Tommasi.
In December 2017 I had a total breakdown, with panic attacks and subsequent agoraphobia.
I eventually was diagnosed with clinical depression and medicated.
2018 is a total blur for me, I spent most of it grappling with my mental health and finding the right medication by trial and error.
Most of the time I felt my body was a blob totally empty of any vital energy and the only place I felt safe in was the bed. If I count the hours I spent lying down they far surpass the ones standing upright.
This series attempts to represent that year, when I wasn’t really there.
Artist Statement
Depression is an odd beast to tackle, one of its most deceiving aspects being the seductive siren-call towards its dark hole of despair.
At times I felt really attached to my hopelessness, as if some part of myself was enamoured of this floating state of non-existence, a sort of getting back into the womb, albeit of course not as pleasant.
I found quite hard to resist the wicked lure of letting myself go and slide down this limbo and this fatal attraction led me to often forgetting my meds, unconsciously sabotaging my process of recovery.
Kicca Tommasi is a fine art photographer based between Argentina and Italy.
Her background as a dance performer as well as her refined visual sense as art director all contribute to give her work a visceral sense of storytelling, movement and place which combine to make multilayered and quietly dramatic images, which are striking as well as haunting.
PANDEMIC
WINNER
“[Escape all]” by Hernan Cazares.
This photo is very special to me. It was taken during the pandemic. After a year of confinement, my wife and I took a road trip to this cabin in Baja. After losing work and being preoccupied with everything going on, this was a breath of fresh air. One of the most amazing days I can remember.
BLACK AND WHITE, ART PHOTOGRAPHY
WINNER
“Guardian of the Bridge” by Andrea Gluckman.
This is an image I took of a dancer in an art installation about indigenous peoples in Western New York and their relationship to the local landscape.
FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY
WINNER
“Summer Night”, by Carla Pekander.
Carla Pekander is a director and screenwriter who has lived in China for quite long and also traveled in different countries. As her camera has taken her to many far away places, she is passionate about the sea, earth, wind and how there are many roads that can lead to the same place, or take one back in time, it is very interesting to see how some themes are eternal. You never know who might inspire you and it is quite interesting.
DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY
WINNER
“Los Bomberos”, by Matt Stanton.
Since the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017, firefighters in Puerto Rico have struggled against recurring black outs whenever disaster strikes. When the power goes out, firefighters are left in the dark and can not receive calls for help.
This photo series was captured during the summer of 2020 as the fire department battled against an especially active hurricane season and the COVID-19 pandemic. This work was commissioned by Solar Responders, a non-profit organization committed to empowering firefighters across the island with renewable back up energy.
MOON, SUN, SKY & HORIZON
WINNER
“Eyes on the Horizon”, by Ashley Starkey.
ANALOG / FILM PHOTOGRAPHY
WINNER
“Woomeninrooms”, series by Julia Sara Noëlle.
For Women in Rooms, Noëlle photographed young adult women (18-25) in their bedrooms. Noëlle poses questions about their independence, self-love, and intimacy. The project is about the discovery of intimacy, the formation of a self-image and the responsibilities of being an adult.
Julia Sara Noëlle (1997) is a photographer and film director. In 2019, she graduated from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute. She hopes to trigger the viewer’s imagination. “I want you to feel something, but to me, no words can express what that feeling is exactly. I don’t go from A to B to C, I want you to connect the dots and find out uniquely for yourself what’s going down.”
Los Angeles Photography Awards 