“The work that I make tends to comment on contemporary issues that disproportionately affect young people,” says Ollie Ma’, whose big projects to date were inspired by Grand Theft Auto and Adam Curtis
BJP
Malaysian youngster Daniel Adams came from Kuala Lumpur to Falmouth to explore identity and racism in photography. When embarking on his most recent project, Why Is Your English So Good?, the 21-year-old asked fellow Malaysian friends who were studying or working in the UK to recount their experiences of racism. Each crafted a one- or two-sentence anecdote and the images that Adams made in response attempt to visualise what it’s like to be on the receiving end of casual prejudice. Using constructed sets and make-up to bring the feelings at the core of each story to life, the photographs are visceral and emotive, harnessing the power of the image to express the indescribable.
Luke Richard’s project Under Black Sun reflects on the rise of far-right politics in contemporary Italy through the concept of the New Man – a form of idealised masculinity created by Mussolini during his reign as dictator, and propagated through various forms of meticulously controlled media. Appropriating the virile symbolism and values of Ancient Rome, the New Man model drew on Rome’s imperial history to whip up support for the New Italy that was to be delivered under a Fascist government – a pattern Richards believes resonates today.
For its 15th birthday, North America’s leading photofestival takes on a new name. Momenta: Biennale de l’image is designed to denote a more studied approach than the previous Month of Photography identity and is entirely in keeping with the direction of the festival – in recent years, under the creative direction of artists, curators and academics including Joan Fontcuberta, Paul Wombell and Marie Frase, it has addressed themes such as the ‘post-photographic’ condition and the impact of automation in image-making. This year’s invited curator is Ami Barak, a French visual authority.
The chief picture editor of Libération between 1981 and 1986, Christian Caujoulle left to co-found Agence Vu’ and, a decade later, Galerie Vu’. He has curated and edited countless photofestivals, exhibitions, and books, and is associate professor at the ENS Louis Lumière school
The camera is like a divining rod and I have lived my life letting instinct show me what I am interested in, says Joel Meyerowitz, who quit his job in advertising in 1962, after seeing Robert Frank at work. A native New Yorker, he became known for his early colour work on the city streets
“I’ve tried to create something different to the other Street Photography events out there, this…
“I’ve just about had enough of photojournalism. What I find most disheartening is the staunch anti-intellectualism; an almost complete lack of self-awareness, with severe consequences in today’s world of ‘alternative facts’. We don’t trust what we see. Why is that?” asks Donald Weber, originally a trained architect but now a leading thinker with four photobooks to his name
The international photography festival in Croatia celebrates its ninth edition, hoping to unite audiences in a ‘divided’ world with its eclectic programme, which includes a Pieter Hugo retrospective; Dana Lixenberg’s award-winning Imperial Courts; and Dragana Jurisic’s elegiac pilgrimage through the former Yugoslavia, YU: The Lost Country
My advice to younger photographers is not to be a photographer but to be a human says Anders Petersen, the Swedish image-maker behind the celebrated photobook Café Lehmitz