Isabelle Pateer

I was sent this link to a Beligian photographers site http://www.isabellepateer.com/projects/ This image is from a series called Unsettled which focusus on whats left after industry has moved on. In this case it's in the Belgian village of Doel. Collectively the photographs tell a story of loss, waste and I think a sense of betrayal. They convey a feeling of people that are abandoned, let down by what big business has to offer. They also show how in a global market business looks at costs first and communities after. I suppose what I really like about them is the fact that the focus is on the human waste, this to me makes the massage more tangible.

Deutsche Borse Photography prize

The Deutsche Borse photography prize is the annual Turner Prize for photography, in other words it is an annual prize (£30,00) which is given to the artist who has used photography in the most meaningful way in that year. Like the Turner the short-list is chosen through exhibition rather than reputation. This years prize winner is John Stezaker. For artists of my age he is something of a legend particularly if you were at college in the seventies and  interested in Conceptual art. Stezaker came after and embraced the Art and Language group and for a while enjoyed a deserved reputation as someone who produced interesting and thought provoking work. Despite his lack of notoriety over the  intervening years he has obviously kept working and now seems to be having a small but significant renaissance. You can find his work on numerous website but I can't seem to find his own. One last thought; it seems interesting that the photography prize should be given not to someone who has taken photographs but to someone who has manipulated them; perhaps this is a sign of the times.

Mustafah Abdulaziz

This is a great crowd shot by Mustafah Abdulaziz, an American photographer, this is from a series of images called Memory Loss which you can find at http://www.mustafahabdulaziz.com/memory-loss . It's not always clear to me what the photographs are saying overall, maybe about displacement, or perhaps they are just good observation; sometimes we neglect the obvious in favour of the conceptual. It's worthwhile looking at the rest of his work, especially New York Fashion Week, which has equally as astute observation.