The Winner of the Shutter Hub PHOTOMASTERS Award is… Giulia Berto, whose work was chosen from the selected 25 exhibiting international MA graduates, at this years exhibition.
“It was a unanimous decision. Berto’s poetic work beautifully captured the emotion behind her project ‘Fragments’ and was presented to a very high standard.” Georgina Howard, PHOTOMASTERS / Old Truman Brewery.
Giulia Berto is an Italian photographer based in New York, having moved there from London, she graduated from the International Center of Photography in 2013.
“I mainly work with film in both small and large format (35mm and 4×5). What interests me the most are long-term projects that allow me to develop an intimate connection with my subjects. The length of my projects enables my photography to not only grow in the microcosm of an idea but it also continuously nurtures the focus of my artistic vision.”
“Being awarded the Shutter Hub PHOTOMASTERS Award has been just wonderful and it means so much to me. I’m truly honoured and over the moon about it! I very much admire Shutter Hub and its commitment to showcasing and promoting emerging photographers and artists. I’m looking forward to nurturing my relationship with such a devoted organisation like Shutter Hub heading into the future.”
Over 3500 people visited the exhibition during it’s four days of opening, and again the organisers felt it was a huge success, giving special thanks to the help and support of the exhibitions partners Shutter Hub and Metro Imaging.
PHOTOMASTERS is part of the special PHOTOBLOCK project, which brings together a distinctive programme of photography events, from Peer Portfolio Reviews (with Shutter Hub and Metro Imaging) to exhibitions from the BPPA, the AOP Awards, the RPS International Print exhibition, and all sorts of things photographic.
“Photomasters has been a truly amazing experience for me. The opportunity to exhibit my long-term project Fragments at the Old Truman Brewery in London – a city in which I lived in for several years prior to moving to New York, was a privilege as well as an especially emotional moment for me. It not only felt like returning home but London was also the city in which Fragments was born. Being able to reconnect with the photography community in the city, meeting the other participants, as well as the general public who visited the show initiated an exchange of ideas which was such an inspiration to me. Also, the opportunity of having a Portfolio and Peer Review with knowledgeable professionals like Karen Harvey from Shutter Hub and Steve Macleod and Kate O’Neill from Metro Imaging, as well as the other exhibitors, was very fruitful. PHOTOMASTERS has a genuinely supportive and friendly atmosphere. I’m grateful of having had the chance of being involved with such an organisation. A special thanks should also go to Georgina Howard from PHOTOBLOCK/The Old Truman Brewery who made the full experience from application to final exhibition smooth and pleasant at all times.”
Where many photographers may be asking questions outside of their selves, Giulia Berto looks to her own life and feelings to examine and express the themes behind the work, Fragments (2013-present).
“Through my long-term project Fragments, I explore how it feels to be together and apart as lovers. The long wait. The longing to be reunited. The joy of being together. The special moments of everyday life along with the anxiety and pressure of an imminent separation. Fragments is a story of a chase, a love letter slowly unfolding across the sea.
I met John in London, UK, in 2012. We fell in love during that summer. Friends, dinners, parties and walks in the park. Time did not constrain us back then, we were floating peacefully in a never-ending today. When I moved to New York City, our time together started to become precious and intensified and this visual journey began.
I smell you once more, I breathe in the fresh breeze from the sea, then I leave. Three cities, four countries, two continents. The starting point in London then New York – my adopted home, Dublin – John’s homeland in Ireland and the North East part of Italy, where I grew up. These are the emotional landscapes of a tale of love and trust, friendship, separation and reunion.”
