At Juniper Hall in Paddington earlier this week, 22 year-old emerging Melbourne photographer James Bugg has been announced the winner of the 2018 Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize (MCPP).
The judges of the Australia’s richest photography prize, photographer and curator Cheryl Newman, photojournalist and photo editor Jon Jones and Australian documentary artist Raphaela Rosella, announced Jack as the winner of the $50,000 prize for his photograph Zach.
“I loved James Bugg’s authentic portrait of Zach from the outset,” said judge Cheryl Newman. “This portrait stayed with me throughout the judging process, as it is fresh, surprising and beautifully articulates life on the fringes of Australian society. In his hands the lens does not exploit his subject.”
“I was extremely keen to see work from emerging photographers and James at only 22 has fitted the bill perfectly. He is an exciting intelligent young photographer who is the perfect winner for a forward-looking prize such as the Moran.”
James Bugg is based in Melbourne and his winning photograph is part of a wider series called The Pines. A recent graduate from the Photography Studies College Melbourne, the subject of his photograph is Zach, a resident of The Pines, an area South-East of Melbourne. James had two photographs amongst the 30 finalist images selected by the judges.
The judges also highlighted Isabella Moore’s The Significance of Ceremony and Matthew Abbott’s Wrestlers Cooling Off as Highly Commended.
The Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize (MCPP) was established in 2007 by the Moran Arts Foundation. It awards and promotes Australian contemporary photography and excellence in all forms of still, photo based artwork – including analogue and digital photography or staged and directorial photo-media work. This is the first year that the MCPP has been announced separately to the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize – which is awarded in October each year.
An exhibition of the 2018 Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize finalists is now open and runs through until 27 May at Juniper Hall, 250 Oxford Street, Paddington. For more information, visit: www.moranprizes.com.au for details.
Image: James Bugg, Zack, 2018 (detail)