Pieter Hugo, Rinko Kawauchi, John Stezaker and Christopher Williams.

This year’s selection showcases a diversity of subject matter and photographic approaches, ranging from documentary photography and the everyday to the recontextualisation of found images and the conceptual. 

The Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2012 is presented by The Photographers’ Gallery, London. The annual award of £ 30,000 rewards a living photographer, of any nationality, for a specific body of work in an exhibition or publication format, which has significantly contributed to photography in Europe between 1 October 2010 and 30 September 2011.

The four shortlisted artists have been nominated for the following projects: 

Pieter Hugo (b.1976, South Africa) is nominated for his publication Permanent Error, published by Prestel (Germany, 2011).

Rinko Kawauchi (b.1972, Japan) is nominated for her publication Illuminance, published by Kehrer (Germany, 2011).

John Stezaker (b.1949, UK) is nominated for his exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK (29 January – 18 March 2011).

Christopher Williams (b. 1956, USA) is nominated for his exhibition Kapitalistischer Realismus at Dum umení Ceské Budejovice, Budweis, Czech Republic (5 May - 12 June 2011).

The members of the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2012 jury are: François Hébel, Director, Les Rencontres d'Arles; Martin Parr, artist; Beatrix Ruf, Director/Curator, Kunsthalle Zürich and Anne-Marie Beckmann, Curator, Art Collection Deutsche Börse, Germany. Brett Rogers, Director of The Photographers’ Gallery, is the non-voting Chair. 

Brett Rogers, Director of The Photographers’ Gallery and Chair of the Jury said: “Each finalist addresses in a timely way issues of critical importance within contemporary photography. Operating between portraiture and social documentary, Pieter Hugo confronts us with the unsettling reality of the impact of e-waste in Ghana; Rinko Kawauchi brings her highly personal sensibility to bear on fragments of everyday life; John Stezaker demonstrates a rigorous exploration of the subversive force of the found image; and finally, alluding to the language of commercial photography, Christopher Williams continuously questions the aesthetic conventions and communication tools that influence our perception of reality.”

Julia Taeschner, Head of Corporate Responsibility for Deutsche Börse said: “We are delighted that the esteemed international jury has made another excellent selection for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2012 shortlist, and we join them in recognizing these talented individuals.The four outstanding artists once again reflect what this prize is all about: to acknowledge and showcase some of the most interesting contributions to contemporary photography in the past year." 

Works by the shortlisted photographers will be shown in an exhibition at The Photographers’ Gallery, Summer 2012, followed by its presentations at the Deutsche Börse headquarters in Frankfurt and at C/O Berlin, Forum for visual dialogues.

Founded in 1996 by The Photographers’ Gallery, and now in its sixteenth year, the Prize has become one of the most prestigious international arts awards and has launched and established the careers of many photographers over the years. Previously known as the Citigroup Photography Prize the Gallery has been collaborating with Deutsche Börse Group as title sponsors since 2005. Winner of the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2011 was Jim Goldberg. Other past winners include Paul Graham, Juergen Teller, Rineke Dijkstra and Richard Billingham.

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