Gideon Mendel is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading contemporary photographers. His intimate style of committed image making, and long-term commitment to projects has earned him international acclaim. Born in Johannesburg in 1959, he studied Psychology and African History at the University of Cape Town. He began photographing in the 1980s during the final years of apartheid. It was his work as a ‘struggle photographer’ at this time that first brought his work to global attention.
In the early 1990s he moved to London, from where he has continued to respond to social issues globally. One of the major focuses of his work soon became the issue of HIV/AIDS. This journey began in Africa and has expanded to many parts of the world over the last twenty years. The concluding and ongoing chapter, Through Positive Eyes, is a collaborative project in which Mendel’s role has shifted from photographer to enabler, handing the camera over to HIV positive people.
Since 2007, Mendel has been working on Drowning World, an art and advocacy project about flooding that is his personal response to climate change. This work has been noted for its unusual use of portraiture, as well as its combination of photography with video pieces.
Mendel has worked for many leading magazines—amongst them National Geographic, Fortune Magazine, Condé Naste Traveller, Geo, The Independent Magazine, The Guardian Weekend Magazine, The Sunday Times Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, L’Express, Stern and Rolling Stone.
His first book, A Broken Landscape: HIV & AIDS in Africa was published in 2001. Since then he has produced a number of photographic advocacy projects, working with charities and campaigning organizations including The Global Fund, Médecins Sans Frontières, Treatment Action Campaign, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Action Aid, the Terrene Higgins Trust, Shelter, Leonard Cheshire International, UNICEF and Concern Worldwide.
His work is increasingly being seen in a variety of gallery contexts, with some of his earliest work from South Africa included in the ongoing Rise and Fall of Apartheid touring exhibition. Drowning World has featured prominently at the ICP Triennial and Picture Windows installations in New York, as well as in numerous other public installations and galleries.
Amongst many accolades, Mendel has won the Eugene Smith Award for Humanistic Photography, six World Press Photo Awards, first prize in the Pictures of the Year competition, a POY Canon Photo Essayist Award and the Amnesty International Media Award for Photojournalism. Most recently he has been shortlisted for the Prix Pictet 2015 (Disorder) for Drowning World.
Juillet 2015, Valérie Belin, photographe française, était nommée lauréate du Prix Pictet. A partir d'aujourd'hui et jusqu'au 8 mai, les photos de ce prestigieux concours seront exposées au Musée international de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-rouge, à Genève.
Crée en 2008, le Prix Pictet s'est imposé au fil des ans comme un concours incontournable pour les professionnels. Ayant pour but de sensibiliser le public aux enjeux environnementaux et sociaux de notre époque, il impose chaque année un thème en conséquence. Pour l'édition 2015, le Prix Pictet avait choisi d'angler le concours autour du désordre. Intitulé "Disorder", ce phénomène est con...
Les noms des douze finalistes sélectionnés pour la 6e édition du Prix Pictet, dont le thème est «Disorder», ont été dévoilés ce vendredi 10 juillet.
Il s'agit des photographes suivants:
Ilit Azoulay: née à Jaffa en 1972, vit et travaille à Tel-Aviv-Jaffa, en Israël
© Ilit Azoulay
Valérie Belin: née à Boulogne-Billancourt en 1964, vit et travaille à Paris, en France
© Valérie Belin
Matthew Brandt: né à Los Angeles en 1982, vit et travaille à Los Angeles, aux Etats-Unis
© Matthew Brandt
Maxim Dondyuk: né à Polyana en 1983, vit et travaille &agrav...
Drowning World is a visual attempt to capture the magnitude of climate change through portraits of flood survivors taken in deep floodwaters within the remains of their homes or in submerged landscapes, in the stillness of once lively environments. Keeping their composure, the photographed subjects pause in front of Gideon Mendel’s camera, casting an unsettling yet engaging gaze. Taken across the world, these images bear witness to a shared experience that erases geographical and cultural divides. They invite the viewers to reflect on our impact on nature and ultimately on our own attachment to our homes and personal belongings. Beyond the documentary aspect of this project, Mendel’s work subtly treads on the aesthetics of portraiture, a genre of which he pushes the boundaries by setting its d&...