From 12 June to 9 July, the Sony Imaging Gallery at Ginza Place in Tokyo is devoting a significant portion of its space to images from this year's Sony World Photography Awards. Promising a thought-provoking and inspiring experience for all who visit, the major exhibition is divided into three phases.
The first installment (from the 12 to 19 June) will include the Youth monthly winners and Open category winners. The Student Photographer of the Year will also be on show, plus the wonderful images created by Japan's National Award winners. A carefully curated selection of series from the Professional competition is then divided into two parts. The first part will be on show from 20 to 29 June and the second and from 30 June to 9 July. The Sony Professional and Student Grant will also be on display. There will also be selected printed images and video from this year's Outstanding Contribution to Photography recipient Gerhard Steidl.
This exhibition helps to marks the start of the photography community gradually assimilating back to normality. After weeks of us staring at our screens – be a laptop, phone or television – this display of physical prints is sure to spark engagement and questions: how does the size of an image play a part in its power to provoke? Does the paper it’s printed on affect the look, mood or overall feel of the artwork? Ambient light can be far more evocative than a uniform, backlit screen, so how does the light add to the picture and if so what is it enhancing? With a print you can examine it close up or take a step back and process the whole image. Looking at a print encourages us to spend more time looking, engaging with and pondering over what’s in front of us. An excellent print invites us to fight for the sophisticated language of imagery and reminds us to not accept monosyllabic imagery.
To discover more about the exhibition, click here
