VILLA MALPENSATA, LUGANO
Unpublished Photo is an event promoted by the Culture and Museums Foundation and MUSEC Lugano. Born from an idea of the Milan-based gallery 29 Arts in Progress, since 2018 the project attracts young photographers under 36 from all over the world. In 2020, MUSEC wanted to consolidate the initiative by giving it an institutional framework and a medium- to long-term development perspective, with the aim of highlighting the main international trends in young art photography.
UP22 saw the participation of over four hundred photographers from thirty-five countries. The exhibition in the Spazio Maraini at Villa Malpensata in Lugano presents 24 large-format photographic prints.
The protagonists of the temporary exhibition are four young talents selected by the international jury of the UP22 prize, chaired by the German photographer Hans Georg Berger. The four portfolios presented touch on themes such as environmental degradation, the search for identity and overcoming limits, and the importance of traditions and crafts. Thanks to a partnership with the De Pietri – Artphilein Foundation, the UP22 competition awards the first prizewinner a monetary prize of CHF 2,000; the second prizewinner receives CHF 1,500, while the third and fourth runners-up receive CHF 1,000 each.
The first prize went to Vietnamese photographer Quan Nguyen Ho, the second to Indian photographer Dipak Ray. Third and fourth place were awarded respectively to Malagasy photographer Tolojanahary Ranaivosoa and Russian photographer Olga Dmitrienko.
The special prize awarded by Artphilein Editions of Lugano, consisting of the publication of a prestigious monographic volume, went to Tolojanahary Ranaivosoa.
Quan Nguyen Ho
The first prize was awarded to Quan Nguyen Ho, born in 1986. Born in Vietnam’s Ha Tinh province, Quan Nguyen Ho is a construction engineer living and working in Hanoi. He began taking photographs in 2016 to document his travels, but soon his collecting of memories became a real passion. Over the years, a keen awareness of environmental issues led him to take an interest in photography that could stir public opinion on current issues. The portfolio ‘Life garbage’ preset at MUSEC is a project realised between 2021 and 2022. Quan documents the tragic reality of some open-air dumps in the suburbs of Hanoi, where toxic and malodorous waste accumulates, which, paradoxically, represents a source of sustenance for people and animals.
Dipak Ray
The second winner is Dipak Ray. Born in Calcutta in 1986, he teaches in a government school. Photography has been his greatest passion since high school, when he received his first film camera as a gift. In 2010, he bought a Nikon D7000 and began a journey of research and experimentation in the world of digital photography.
The “Frame within frame” portfolio presented at UP22 is a dream come true after having been cultivated for a long time. The portfolio was made between 2019 and 2020, along the Kangsabati, a river in West Bengal that is often dry and feeds mainly on rainwater.
In winter, its banks are shrouded in mist, as are the wooden frames Ray places in the water, asking his brother to walk around them. The result is evocative and meaningful images.
Tolojanahary Ranaivosoa
The third winner is Tolojanhary Ranaivosoa. Born in 1987 in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo, he is a geographer. He approached photography as a self-taught photographer in 2011 and then perfected his skills by regularly participating in workshops. He began photographing his city, becoming aware of the wonders one can encounter while walking. Tolojanhary Ranaivosoa is interested in documenting moments of everyday life, often trying to capture curious, tragic or hilarious moments or aspects. Since 2014, he has been portraying urban environments and thus the porfolio “The yellow revolution” was born, which, besides reporting glimpses of lived life, is a pure act of social complaint.
Olga Dmitrienko
The fourth winner of UP22 is Olga Dmitrienko born in Moscow in 1986. While studying at the Faculty of Journalism, Olga began taking photographs and soon realised that her interest lay in human beings. After finishing university, she discovered Italy on one of her many trips. She found in Genoa a city on a human scale, in which to meet and acknowledge friendly gestures, smiles and a time that the frenzy that characterises our society tends to forget or rob. Hence the “Genoese artisans and artists” project, in which she presents a series of photographs portraying the faces of professionals in their workshops or homes, skilful faces that hand down memory from generation to generation.
