Breakthrough's past winners explain how the award propelled them to the next level

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned since graduating?

ADAMA JALLOH: It’s okay to make mistakes – it’s something that I still continuously have to repeat to myself.

TANYA HOUGHTON: Really commit to the work that you make. Don’t try to adapt it to please others or to make it fit into certain genres. Being a photographic practitioner can be solitary at times but if you look hard enough between the gaps you’ll find others working around and interested in similar concepts to you, giving you a platform to discuss and collaborate on ideas.

 

“THROUGH OTHERS SEEING MY WORK [AT BREAKTHROUGH, IT OPENED UP ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES TO COLLABORATE WITH OTHER CREATIVES, WRITERS AND ACADEMICS.”

 

TIM PEARSE: Not giving up is hard, but giving up is worse.

 

From the series This Must Be The Place © Tanya Houghton
From the series This Must Be The Place © Tanya Houghton
 
From the series This Must Be The Place © Tanya Houghton
From the series This Must Be The Place © Tanya Houghton
 

In what ways has your process evolved since you were a student?

FELIX VON DER OSTEN: I now have a lot of friends in photography that I can show new work to and discuss things with. It is very valuable to me to hear their opinion and have someone you trust critique your work.

ADAMA JALLOH: I think that now I’m not thinking so much about ways of coming up with new projects too heavily to the point where it slows down the whole process of even producing images. I did that quite a lot as a student, so now I just shoot what I perceive as interesting around me and go from there. It’s made me even more open to things to shoot and ways of shooting.

 

“NOT GIVING UP IS HARD, BUT GIVING UP IS WORSE”

 

TANYA HOUGHTON: My process has become much more interdisciplinary since undertaking my M.A. I now draw inspiration from a wide range of sources – anthropology, social geography, psychology, social sciences and poetry. More recently I have begun to include text with in my work and I am currently collaborating with poet for a body of work for completion next year. 

TIM PEARSE: I have become much less scared of failure, which has helped encourage me to take more risks with my image making, which has in turn allowed me to experiment more with concept and process. It’s freed up my practice and enabled me to make photographs in ways I hadn’t imagined before.

 

Untitled (Shell) © Tim Pearse
Untitled (Shell) © Tim Pearse
 

What advice do you have for photographers entering Breakthrough?

FELIX VON DER OSTEN: I think it is important that you put your heart into the pictures. For me it is very important that a photographer really gets involved with people and the issue he or she is photographing and focused on. It’s a unique relationship and that will show in some way.

ADAMA JALLOH: Submit images that centre around themes or subjects that are meaningful and personal to you. I think sometimes that alone can make those who are viewing your work engage and connect with it.

TANYA HOUGHTON: Allow yourself the time to really reflect on the work you are entering. Be strict with your edit, a stronger edit with fewer images will speak louder than trying to enter as many images as you can. But most importantly, enter the work that you feel most passionate about.

TIM PEARSE: Show the judges something that is uniquely “you”. Try to find that one image that stands above all of your others, that shouts your name. Be different.

Get your work exhibited, published, and showcased around the world – enter Breakthrough 2016

 

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