Melbourne street photographer Jesse Marlow has won the $25000 Bowness Photography Prize. Marlow took the top prize from a field of 42 photographs, currently on display at the Monash Gallery of Art (MGA).
Marlow's winning photograph 'Laser vision' followed a chance encounter on his daily travels around the streets of Melbourne.
"Contrived photographic shoots and intricately designed set-ups have never interested me. Rather it is the uncertainty of street photography that continues to stimulate. The idea that I can leave the house one morning and come home at the end of the day with a photograph that will be with me forever constantly drives and excites me."
The Bowness Prize was judged by Penelope Seidler AM (MGA Patron), Isobel Crombie (Deputy Director NGV), Trent Parke (Magnum photographer) and Shaune Lakin (MGA Gallery Director).
"Marlow’s picture is in many ways the perfect street photograph: it is a candid image of everyday life, but one that makes the everyday seem both extraordinary and strange," said MGA Director Shaune Lakin.
Jesse Marlow, who is a member of the collectives in-public.com and Oculi, travelled to London last year to receive the 2011 International Street Photography Award. His work is distributed by the prestigious French agency Agence Vu.
Three photographers earned honourable mentions in the Bowness Prize – Siri Hayes, Christian Thompson, and William Yang.
Jesse Marlow, 'Laser Vision' (2011). From the series 'Don't just tell them, show them'. (Courtesy of Anna Pappas Gallery and the artist.)
Jesse Marlow, 'Laser Vision' (2011). From the series 'Don't just tell them, show them'. (Courtesy of Anna Pappas Gallery and the artist.)
