The Citibank Photography Prize 2001

Boris Mikhailov is this year's £15,000 winner of The Citibank Private Bank Photography Prize 2001. As Mikhailov walked away with the coveted winner's cheque, the four other shortlisted artists - Roni Horn, Hellen van Meene, Jem Southam and Hannah Starkey - also received a surprise cheque of £1,500 each. This is the first year that the runners up have received such an award and Andrew Pinhorn, Director of The Citibank Private Bank says, "We felt it was important to reward merit, and the artists have all produced such exceptional work, that waiting for just one winner can be a very tense time. As such we didn't want anyone to walk away empty handed."

Boris Mikhailov was born in 1938 in Kharkov, Ukraine, and he currently lives and works in Berlin. In the late 1960s, the KGB found some nude photographs which Mikhailov had taken of his wife. This discovery resulted in the loss of his job as a technical engineer and as a consequence he decided to devote himself to photography.

Boris Mikhailov was nominated for his most recent work entitled, Case History, 1999 (published by Scalo). An unflinching, despairing sequence of nearly 500 colour photographs, this project explores the break-up of the Soviet Union by focusing on its human casualties, the bomzhes or homeless. These morally complex photographs form a section of Mikhailov's work which continues to explore the position of the individual within the historical workings of public ideology.

The announcement of the winner was made by Lord Puttnam of Queensgate CBE at a champagne reception at The Photographers' Gallery, London on 1 March. The Prize was established in 1996 to reward the individual who is judged to have made the most significant contribution to the medium of photography over the past year, through exhibition or publication in Britain. Boris Mikhailov joins the ranks of previous winners, Anna Gaskell (2000),Rineke Dijkstra (1999),Andreas Gursky (1998) and Richard Billingham (1997).

The Citibank Private Bank Photography Prize attracts huge crowds of regular visitors each year and this year has been no exception, with 12,000 visitors a week so far. The exhibition of the 5 shortlisted artists' work continues until 24 March 2001.

The Jury David Chandler, writer and Director of Photoworks, England. Ute Eskildsen, Curator, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany. Catherine Yass, artist, London. Ian Dunlop, Fine Art Consultant and non-voting chairman of the jury.

Publication An accompanying catalogue to the work of this year's shortlisted artists, with an introduction by Jeremy Millar and essays by: Donna de Salvo on Roni Horn; Joanna Woodall on Hellen van Meene; Gilda Williams on Boris Mikhailov; Michael Wilson on Jem Southam and Gianmarco del Re on Hannah Starkey. Designed by North.

Pressetext

The Citibank Photography Prize 2001

shortlist: Roni Horn, Hellen van Meene, Boris Mikhailov, Jem Southam, Hannah Starkey
Preisträger: Boris Mikhailov