18/02/2010
Belfast born photographer, Donovan Wylie has been nominated for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2010, alongside Anna Fox, Zoe Leonard, Sophie Ristelhueber.
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The prestigious annual award of £30,000 rewards a living photographer of any nationality who has made the most significant contribution in exhibition or publication format to the medium of photography in Europe between October 2008 and September 30 2009.
Belfast Exposed, funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, first showed Donovan Wylie’s Deutsche Börse nominated exhibition Maze 2007/8 last year.
Donovan began his career as a photographer at the age of 16. In 1992 he was invited to become a nominee of Magnum Photos and in 1998 he became a full member – the youngest in the history of the agency.
Donovan Wylie’s works explore the religious identity, history, the concept of territory in Northern Ireland and the architecture of conflict. Between 2002 and 2003, Wylie was the only photographer granted official and unlimited access to the Maze prison. The site became a synonym for the Northern Ireland Conflict due to its history of political segregation, riots, hunger strikes, mass escapes and deaths among both inmates and staff. He systematically recorded its demise with his camera. The photographs are divided into four sections, each depicting a “layer” of the prison: the internal walls, the various modes of fencing, the infamous H-blocks and, finally, the perimeter walls, which give a glimpse of the outside world.
The prize will be presented by The Photographers’ Gallery, London and the winner will be announced on St Patrick's Day, Wednesday 17 March 2010. The Photographers' Gallery in London has opened an exhibition of nominated work (12 February – 18 April 2010). Later in 2010 the exhibition, including work premiered in Belfast, will be shown at the C/O Berlin and the Deutsche Börse Group headquarters in Frankfurt.
More information on the prize click here.
More information on the exhibition click here
