In this the eighth edition of the photography festival, the Darmstadt Photography Days' Merck-Award will be awarded for the fifth time among exhibitors taking part in the programme. The theme for this year's bid was “Reflections – aesthetic references”. The sponsor of the award is Merck, a Pharmaceutical, Chemical and Life Sciences company in Darmstadt.
The jury has nominated three photographers for the 2014 Merck Prize:
- Christine Erhard, Düsseldorf (Germany) –
Moscow Intervention
- Nina Kopp, Amsterdam (Netherlands) –
Treasure of the bee
- Alexandra Polina, Bielefeld (Germany) –
MADE IN USSR
The most important selection criteria for the jury was the uniqueness of the imagery of the works submitted – works that needed to convey a distinct concept while keeping an obvious connection to this year's theme, “Reflection – aesthetic references”. Jury member Ute Noll explained that this time they were looking for pictures that, “emerged from a conscious exploration of aesthetic types of photographic image creation, and that, consequently, conveyed a specifically applied aesthetic style.”
Further information at:
Merck-Award