Singapore photographers recognized at ICON de Martell Cordon Blue exhibition

Edwin Khoo - Paradise Lost
The works of the nine nominated Singaporean photographers for the ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu award are showing at ION until Aug 22. The annual competition with a prize of $30,000 is now in its third year and seek to recognise Singapore’s most outstanding photographer.

The nine Singaporean photographers are Albert Lim, Edwin Koo (Photo above and one of my favorites), Ernest Goh, Jeremy San, Roy Zhang, Wesley Loh, Yian Huang, Sam Kang Li and Tristan Cai.

Ernest Goh - Altered Land

The nominees come from very different background. Edwin Koo, Ernest Goh and Yian Huang have travelled all over Asia for their craft. Edwin Koo was formerly based in Nepal, with long-term projects focusing on the stories of the Tibetan exiles and the Maoist guerrillas in Nepal. Goh's works include covering the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami and documenting the troubles of the Thai-Burmese border. As for Yian Huang, his most notable work is the documentation of the 2004 Israeli-Pakistani conflict.

Albert Lim - URban series- but whale !

Albert Lim and Jeremy San are the first ever architectural photographers to be nominated for ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu. Albert Lim is a well-established architectural photographer who is the photographer of choice for many leading architects and developers in Southeast Asia. San's work has been featured in several local and international publications and he is currently working on a book that ams to document buildings in Singapore that were built from the 1920s to the 1970s.
Both Wesley Loh's and Sam Kang Li's works deal very much with the community; Loh's work explores the meaning of what it means to be a Singaporean while Sam's latest project revolves around the encounters between neighbours of his residential block. 

Finally, there's Roy Zhang and Tristan Cai, whose works are rather out of the norm when one thinks of photography. Zhang's work is rather pop culture in nature, due to his background in interior design and advertising photography. Cai'swork is more conceptual, delving into the life of a created character through photography.

Established in 2010 by Martell Cordon Bleu, ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu awards a photographer who has shown originality of vision, presented thought-provoking ideas, explored new concepts and demonstrated a commitment to his or her art through the use of the photographic medium. It honours the totality of the artist’s body of work and practice. In addition to the cash prize of $30,000, the winner of ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu will also receive the ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu trophy, a trip to Cognac, France and a chance to publish a photography book. Two runners-up will each be honoured with the Discernment Award and cash prize of $8,000.

Roy Zhang - Tokyo 311#4