/PRCWT/December 19, 2023 Xiamen - December 17, 2023, China. Leica Camera participated in the Jimei Arles International Photography Festival for the first time. "Between Light and Shadow: The 2023 Leica Oscar Barnack Photography Award Photography Exhibition" kicked off in Xiamen on December 17, 2023, showcasing the works of the winners and shortlisted photographers of the 2023 Leica Oskar Barnack Photography Award (hereinafter referred to as "LOBA"). As the theme of the exhibition indicates, "between light and shadow" symbolizes that the world has its light and darkness, but human beings still hold hope, strive for a better world and life, and witness and share with the camera in their hands.
Siegmund Dukek, Managing Director of Leica Camera Greater China, Rongrong, Co-founder of Three Shadows Photography Art Center, Qi Yan, Executive Director of Three Shadows Photography Art Center, and Le Ziyi, winner of the 2023 LOBA New Bee Award, attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
The Leica Oskar Barnack Photography Award was established in 1980 to coincide with the centenary of Oscar Barnack (1879-1936), the inventor of the 35mm film and the first 35mm camera. The award is designed to recognize photographers who "have a keen sense of observation and can vividly express the relationship between humanity and the environment." It is currently one of the most recognized awards in the photography industry.
The exhibition showcased the works of four photographers shortlisted for LOBA: the main award winner Ismail Ferdous's "Beach" series, the new bee award winner Laziyi's "Now, Then" series, Gustavo Minas's "Floating City" series, and Eric Bouvet's "Elevation" series, a total of more than 40 works. Among them, the Chinese photographer Laziyi's work "Now, Then" (New Comer) focuses the camera on young people in a foreign land, and he realizes that these portraits reflect his self-doubt, alienation and growing sense of emptiness, as well as a generation's search for personal development and social status. He won the 2023 LOBA new bee award for this series of works, which is also the Chinese photographer's second time after 12 years.
"This year, after 12 years, we are very honored that a Chinese photographer has won the new bee award of the Leica Oscar Barnack Photography Award again. This time we have the honor to work with Three Shadows, and what is even more surprising is that Zi Yi was not only born and raised in Xiamen, but also worked at Three Shadows. I believe this is what is called'fate 'in Chinese," said Siegmund Dukek, managing director of Leica Camera Greater China. "Leica firmly believes that the importance of LOBA is becoming more and more obvious, especially in the current era of rapid development of artificial intelligence."
"This group of works is produced with the projection of self-doubt. The young people captured by the camera have more or less the same mental journey as me, but even if we have the same experience, they are independent individuals behind each story. I feel the tenacity of vitality, and everyone is redeeming themselves in their own way, both positive and negative," Le Ziyi said in his opening speech.
In addition to the video works, Leica Camera also invited panGenerator, a new media art and design group based in Warsaw, Poland, to bring an interactive art installation to the exhibition - Hash2ash. This work aims to encourage audiences to pay more attention to the present moment and deeply feel the moments recorded behind each photo.
Introduction to the exhibition works
Colorful beach life
Main Award Winner of the 43rd Leica Oscar Barnack Photography Awards 2023:
Ismail Ferdous: Sea Beach
Cox's Bazar, located at the southernmost tip of Bangladesh, stretches across the Bay of Bengal and is a popular destination for the country's people. It is considered a cultural melting pot, where people from all walks of life and social strata seek a moment of relaxation and entertainment. The photographer, born in 1989, currently lives in New York, but he is from Bangladesh. This time, he returned to this special place to capture the beachgoer and vacation atmosphere in bright colors.
Young people in a foreign land
The new bee winner of the 43rd Leica Oscar Barnack Photography Awards 2023:
Ziyi Le: New Comer
The Chinese photographer, who was born in 1993, first started the project through Weibo, and found interest in his sensual portraits. He realized that the staged photographs reflected his self-doubt, alienation and growing sense of emptiness. This led to a series of moving portraits, "Now, Then," which show a generation's search for personal development and social status.
Mountains, glaciers, and puzzling nails
Finalists for the 43rd Leica Oscar Barnack Photography Awards 2023:
Eric Bouvet: Elevations
For the past three years, the French-born 1961 photographer has been paying homage to early photography with a large frame size of 20 × 25 and a historical approach to 19th century photography. He is very concerned about the loss of ice and climate change around Mont Blanc in the French Alps, and he has carefully conceived this magnificent subject in a very practical way.
People in Transition Cities
Finalists for the 43rd Leica Oscar Barnack Photography Awards 2023:
Gustavo Minas: Liquid Cities
The work of the Brazilian photographer, born in 1981, is full of feelings of isolation, alienation, and even fear. The photographer frequently uses reflections to capture different levels of reality determined by the different individual needs of different social groups. Shot in major cities in the Americas and Europe, the series is fascinating and moving.
The exhibition "Between Light and Shadow" will continue until January 21, 2024; in January of the following year, it will also be exhibited at the Leica Gallery in Taipei, taking this opportunity to let more people experience the world under the lens of Leica and appreciate the excellent photographic works up close.
In the future, Leica Camera will provide better services and products to create inspiration for more photographers to freeze frames; at the same time, it will also help various humanistic activities to further promote the development of photography art, and is committed to promoting the influence of photography art, so that more people can feel the charm of photography art.
Leica Camera - Walking with Photography
Leica Camera AG is an international company specializing in the production of high-end cameras and sports optics products. Leica's enduring quality, German craftsmanship, industrial design and continuous innovation in technology have established the company's century-old legend. As an important part of the brand culture, Leica has carried out a rich range of activities to promote the development of the art of photography. In addition to the Leica Galleries and Leica Academies around the world, Leica also established the "Leica Hall of Fame Award" and the "Leica Oscar Barnack Photography Award" (LOBA), the latter of which is considered one of the most innovative sponsorship awards today. Leica Camera AG is headquartered in Wizzler, Hesse, Germany. Another production site is located in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal. Branches and a network of Leica retail stores are located all over the world.
