The winner of this year’s European Month of Photography (EMOP) Arendt Award has been announced as French photographer Samuel Gratacap.
Samuel Gratacap is the winner of the EMOP Arendt Award within the framework of the European Month of Photography, a photography biennial founded in 2006 which takes place in eight European capitals (Athens, Berlin, Bratislava, Budapest, Ljubljana, Luxembourg, Paris and Vienna).
Every two years, Arendt & Medernach presents the Arendt Award to one of the artists featured in the European Month of Photography.
In Luxembourg, the 6th European Month of Photography is entitled “Looking for the clouds”, and boasts 24 exhibitions in 21 locations.
Observing the movement of the clouds or the flight of birds has traditionally been a way of predicting the future. Looking for the clouds refers to the anxiety of those who scan the sky, haunted by drones and other machines designed for surveillance or destruction, but it also hints at the mingled hopes and fears of those who are searching for a better life, migrants especially.
Five artists were chosen from among the emerging artists selected for the “Looking for the clouds” exhibition project launched by the eight EMOP partner cities: Samuel Gratacap, Jure Kastelic, Daniel Mayrit, Aida Silvestri and Panos Tsagaris.
The jury was made up of Michaela Bosakova (Ljubljana), Berthold Ecker (Vienne), Jean-Luc Soret (Paris) and Manolis Moresopoulos (Athens) and is coordinated by Paul di Felice (Luxembourg), the exhibition curator.
Jean-Luc Soret, president of the jury, has explained why Samuel Gratacap was nominated: “Samuel Gratacap positions himself as a witness and provides us with a timeless, universal representation of the current position of the migrant”. He added that he “produces very beautiful images, reminiscent of studio photography, although we are in the open air and in difficult living conditions”.
Born in 1982 in Pessac (France), Samuel Gratacap lives and works in Paris. A plastic artist, he studied art at the Higher School of Fine Arts in Marseille. His work, which is both sensitive and objective, stands at the crossroads of photojournalism and contemporary art. Departing from media clichés and exploring a range of photographic techniques and contemporary artistic techniques he has created a new relationship between time and topicality via an effectively constructed artistic discourse.
The five artists nominated will be exhibited in the gallery of Arendt House from 26 April to 15 September 2017. The exhibition is open to the public every Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 to 18:00.
