Talent of the Year 2020 - NOMINEE: Swen Bernitz

Landmarks is a conceptual documentation of architectural art objects on former mining dumps in the Ruhr area of Germany. The Ruhr area has been significantly impacted by industrialisation and mining over the last 200 years. As the coal was extracted from underground, inevitably the surrounding rock was also mined. This waste rock was largely unsaleable and so most of it was dumped, creating artificial hills in an otherwise flat landscape. There are more than 250 spoil heaps in the Ruhr area. Through a process of rewilding, and the erection of a number of art installations, some of these piles of slag and rubble have become unlikely tourist attractions. As such, they have been photographed many times. To offer a fresh perspective I decided to show the installations as mysterious objects, hoping to encourage multiple interpretations. The structures could be viewed as sculptures, giant toys, architectural models or just carefree points of longing in a man-made landscape.

About author:
Born 1970 in Berlin (East). Self-taught photographer, since 2008 documentary long-term projects on the topics of built environment, urban landscapes and modern urban development.

Awards (selection):

- Shortlist Architecture “Sony World Photography Awards 2020”
- Nomination “Art Award AOK Nordost 2020”
- Longlist “Aesthetica Art Prize 2020”
- Winner Architecture “Annual Photography Awards 2019” - APA Architectural Photographer of the Year 2019
- Winner Architecture & Interiors “14th Pollux Award's Professional Section 2019”
- Finalist Fine Art “Vision Excellence Awards 2019”
- Nominee Landscape “International Photography Grant 2019”
- Honorable Mention Architecture “International Photography Awards 2019”
- Shortlist Free Choice / Conceptual “Felix Schoeller Photo Award 2019“
- Finalist Photolucida “Critical Mass 2019” & Shortlist GUP Publication Award
- Highly Recommended at European Architectural Photography Prize 2019 “Joyful Architecture”