Photographer: Justin, Barton, UK
Prize: Third Prize - Series
Entry Description:
Introduction: The true nature of national identity and our elemental need to bond with patriotism is questioned in the face of portraits of nationalists of a country that doesn’t exist, but whose symbols have exerted a potent enough influence to maintain a frozen conflict for 25 years.
During the split of the USSR this sliver of land at the edge of Moldova did not willingly secede, but claimed independence as a Soviet Republic. Invisible on any maps outside of its borders, it remains unrecognized by any UN state. But in 1992 a bloody war was fought between Moldovans and Transnistrian separatists and now it remains caught between its Soviet history, current isolation and a dream of annexation by Russia.
About Photographer:
Justin Barton’s photography is a mix of environmental portraiture, interiors and still life details with a sense of place. He is fascinated by the history of places and attempts to communicate a sense of continuity within the images - what did these people and places witness?
His last project was a dissection of the nature of the Cold War by photographing nuclear missile crews, the silos where they worked and the weapons themselves. The book “Atomic War In Details” is due to be published this year.
He believes in slow journalism and that independent art works freed from news media procedural constraints are the future of a deeper dissemination of current affairs. Influences include Simon Norfolk, Taryn Simon, Roger Fenton, Edward Burtynsky and Sebastian Salgado among many others.
He has three IPA awards, a first place at the International Color Awards and was the recipient of the Lucie Foundation Emerging Photography Scholarship 2013. He has been exhibited at numerous Photography Festivals including the Singapore International Photo Festival, Copenhagen Photo Festival and Organ Vida (Zagreb). Other recent notable exhibitions include Museum Villa Stuck (Munich) and the Silverprint Gallery (London).
He is also a founding member of Deepsleep Magazine the online magazine of contemporary photography.
Prize: Third Prize - Series
Entry Description:
Introduction: The true nature of national identity and our elemental need to bond with patriotism is questioned in the face of portraits of nationalists of a country that doesn’t exist, but whose symbols have exerted a potent enough influence to maintain a frozen conflict for 25 years.
During the split of the USSR this sliver of land at the edge of Moldova did not willingly secede, but claimed independence as a Soviet Republic. Invisible on any maps outside of its borders, it remains unrecognized by any UN state. But in 1992 a bloody war was fought between Moldovans and Transnistrian separatists and now it remains caught between its Soviet history, current isolation and a dream of annexation by Russia.
- Nina Shtanski - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic.
- NikolaySmolenskiy – Police Lieutenant Colonel Expert in Transnistrian Criminal Law.
- Natalia Yefremova - Seller of Transnistrian patriotic items in Tiraspol
- Igor Nebeygolova – KGB Colonel and Commander of the Cossack Regiment in Tiraspol.
- IrinaSmirnova – Director of The Museum of The Transnistrian National Tragedy.
About Photographer:
Justin Barton’s photography is a mix of environmental portraiture, interiors and still life details with a sense of place. He is fascinated by the history of places and attempts to communicate a sense of continuity within the images - what did these people and places witness?
His last project was a dissection of the nature of the Cold War by photographing nuclear missile crews, the silos where they worked and the weapons themselves. The book “Atomic War In Details” is due to be published this year.
He believes in slow journalism and that independent art works freed from news media procedural constraints are the future of a deeper dissemination of current affairs. Influences include Simon Norfolk, Taryn Simon, Roger Fenton, Edward Burtynsky and Sebastian Salgado among many others.
He has three IPA awards, a first place at the International Color Awards and was the recipient of the Lucie Foundation Emerging Photography Scholarship 2013. He has been exhibited at numerous Photography Festivals including the Singapore International Photo Festival, Copenhagen Photo Festival and Organ Vida (Zagreb). Other recent notable exhibitions include Museum Villa Stuck (Munich) and the Silverprint Gallery (London).
He is also a founding member of Deepsleep Magazine the online magazine of contemporary photography.
