Esko was nominated for a retrospective exhibition shown in 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden, entitled Cocktails 1990-2007. He documents the lives of those who inhabit the periphery, and became known for his series The Female Pike, depicting isolated bachelors living in the Finnish countryside.
His most recent series, Harmony Sisters (2005 - ongoing), turns detail shots of animals into abstract studies. He has been taking the images at farms and zoos around the world, capturing the characteristics of everything from horses to monkeys in an unusual and striking way.
Esko’s work is on show alongside that of the other shortlisted nominees, John Davies, Jacob Holdt and Fazal Sheikh at the Photographers’ Gallery in London, where the prize is presented, until April 6 2008.
The award is worth £30,000, and jury members in 2008 were Els Barents (director, Huis Marseille, Netherlands), Jem Southam (photographer, UK), Thomas Weski (chief curator, Haus der Kunst, Germany), and Anne-Marie Beckmann (curator, Art Collection Deutsche Börse, Germany).
“The four nominees on this year’s shortlist eschew the fashionable in favour of social and political engagement,” said Brett Rogers, chair of the jury and director of the Photographers’ Gallery.
“Esko Männikkö’s pictorial risk-taking, combined with his poetic approach to dealing with universal issues such as alienation and identity, greatly impresses the 2008 jury. In his books and on the gallery walls, Männikkö has successfully created an authentic and compelling new photographic vision that fuses social documentary and fine art.”
Founded in 1996, the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize has become one of the most prestigious international arts awards, and has launched and established the careers of many photographers over the years. Previously known as the Citigroup Photography Prize, the Deutsche Börse Group has sponsored it since 2005.
The prize seeks to acknowledge today’s leading international photographers and artists, and to raise the profile of photography within the visual arts by acting as a focus for debate. It also aims to increase audiences for contemporary photography and explore its role in society.
