Jerwood/Photoworks Awards announces three winners of new photography talent prize

Jerwood Charitable Foundation and Photoworks have announced the winners of its second bienniel prize for new talent in photography: Alejandra Carles-Tolra, Sam Laughlin and Lua Ribeira. Two of the three winners were born in Spain, and two are graduates of the University of South Wales (USW) in Newport.

Alejandra’s work looks at how group identity shapes individual identity. For her project she plans to photograph “Janeites”, devotees of Jane Austen, who have formed communities to celebrate and recreate the author’s world. The photographer was born in Spain and studied in Barcelona and Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and has been published by Vice and It’s Nice That.

UK-born photographer Sam plans to work with researchers to capture animal behaviours such as nesting and migration. In contrast to conventional wildlife photography, Sam aims to focus on form and process rather than the “spectacle in nature”. Sam studied documentary photography at USW and exhibited at Brighton Photo Fringe 2016.

Lua hopes to “play with the provocative history of the black body in photography” while also continuing her exploration of female identity within contemporary Jamiacan dancehall culture in the UK. The Spanish-born photographer studied science and graphic design before finding photography, which she also studied at USW, and has since won several awards.

The Jerwood/Photoworks Awards is given to a UK-based photographer within ten years of graduating or establishing their practice. Each prize winner is given £5,000 to support the time and space to research and develop new work, with access to further production funds and mentoring over the next year. In January 2018 the artists will show their projects at Jerwood Space in London before going on a national tour with partners such as Impressions Gallery, Bradford and Belfast Exposed.