Chester Fields 2022 celebrates work of teen photographers, at The Polygon Gallery to September 11
Jeffer Ward takes top award in work centred around the theme of “Look Again”
Post Sponsored by The Polygon Gallery
Jeffer Ward’s award-winning The Value.
Jeffer Ward (left) and Jonathan Sterling at the Chester Fields opening celebration. Photo: Anita Bonnarens
Sabrina Wu’s Human Nature.
The Polygon Gallery has announced the winners of Chester Fields 2022, its annual teen photography showcase—on view now, onsite and online.
Jeffer Ward has taken top prize for The Value, a striking black-and-white image of two people at a dinner table that explores ideas of companionship, food, and the benefits of gathering around a table.
The runners up are Sabrina Wu for Human Nature, a colour closeup of a human’s eye merged with a goat’s eye to confront ideas of animal exploitation; and Jonathan Sterling for Letting Go, layered self-portraits over time that reveal different levels of comfort in one’s own skin.
Chester Fields encourages the development of visionary young photographers, giving them an opportunity to show their work on a professional platform. Teen artists from across the region are invited to submit original works of photographic art in response to a theme—in this year’s case, “Look Again”.
The commitment to returning to a subject repeatedly inspired that 2022 Chester Fields theme. Photography is so often an instantaneous process; what new possibilities can be discovered when we draw that process out? Rather than capturing an image instantly, photographers were challenged to choose a subject that they would revisit, again and again, over a period of time. Artists interpreted this theme, and took up this challenge, with incredible ingenuity. At a time when our attention is often scattered and diverted, themes of slowing down, looking closely, and contemplating carefully continued to arise among the rich variety of images submitted.
All submissions are reviewed by a jury of artists and arts professionals, who select works to be shown in both virtual and onsite exhibitions.
Chester Fields 2022: Look Again is on now until September 11 at The Polygon Gallery. You can also view all the finalists, which range from 3-D scans to triptychs, in an online exhibition here.
Post sponsored by The Polygon Gallery.