The Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography is a renowned photography prize that is awarded every year for extraordinary performances. The award, which is considered to be the most significant in photography worldwide, is organized by the Hasselblad Foundation and worth about 100,000 €.
The list of award winners includes big names such as Henri Cartier-Bresson (1982), Irving Penn (1985) and Cindy Sherman (1999). This year the famous award was given to Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra.
Dijkstra became famous in the 1990s for her portraits of children and teenagers.
The Dutch photographer is one of the most popular contemporary artists in this field. She mainly focuses on portrait photography and on various facets of identity. With her unique style she captures moments of transition or vulnerability.
She works with large formats, classical lenses and a tripod. Usually she portrays her subjects from a frontal perspective as they directly face the camera. With reduced backgrounds the protagonists in her pictures almost look like symbols of themselves. Before shooting she waits for the moment where her models forget their mail and then show who they really are.
One series I find very interesting deals with young toreros. They aren’t portrayed as heroes but after their fights. Mussed hair, dirty clothes, bloody bodies and totally exhausted – that’s the way she’s chosen for her images.
Photos: Rineke Dijkstra
