#CollectiveMeets…Canon New Cosmos of Photography Award winner Derek Man
Huge congrats to #CollectiveFam Derek Man who has recently won a prestigious Canon New Cosmos of Photography Award! We spoke to him to find out more about his winning entry, his photography style, exciting upcoming projects and how he collaborates with other Collective Members…
Well done on being selected in the Canon Cosmos Photography Awards! What is the aim of the award?
The Canon New Cosmos of Photography Award is one of the biggest photography competitions in Japan and it’s ran by Canon Global. It’s aimed at promoting a new generation of photographers and to put a spotlight on talent. So hopefully being one of the winners is going to help get my work seen by a lot of people on an international level. There will be a group show exhibition at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum and we have to present in front of the grand jury and the winner will get a solo show the following year.
Can you describe the context of your winning entry?
My winning entry is called ‘What do you see? Old Apple Tree?’ and I did it first for a group exhibition where the theme was all about community and agriculture. I was the only photographer in the show and the curator said, ‘why don’t you visit all the orchards that are being kept alive by volunteers?’ Straight away I knew what they had in mind, but I thought I’m going to do something different. I turned up with my camera and I showed up on harvest day and I started picking apples with them. With the apples that I picked at each location, I turned them into pinhole cameras and I photographed the people who are keeping these orchards alive using those pinhole cameras. One of the places I visited was Gillespie Park in Angel, and it was Apple Day, and sure enough, Jeremy Corbyn turned up!
How would you describe the style of your photography?
My background is in documentary photography. I finished my MA at Newport and I think documentary is how I would best describe my style and I usually shoot with normal cameras, not fruit! The winning entry was more of a conceptually driven and experimental project. I’ve been living here in the UK for 13 years and I used to live in Hong Kong, so a sense of displacement and belonging is very much central to what I do as a photographer, and it’s just happened naturally over the course of a few years.
Do you have any exciting upcoming projects?
Well I’m going to Tokyo for the opening of the Canon exhibition and a presentation, but in 2 weeks time I’m going to Switzerland to show the same work in a little village at the Verzasca FOTO Festival in Sonogno.
Also, my partner Becky is a food writer who’s about to join Collective. Our partnership started as a little zine commission from Berlin and we came up with this idea about food and love. We’re gathering couples so that we can recreate the first meal they had together, so it’s a kind of portrait of people and food. Hopefully in a couple of years it will grow into something bigger.
Are you collaborating with any current Collective Members?
Toby — I’ve known him for years. He actually did a mini documentary for my Apple Tree project. He shot and edited it for me and because of that he is also getting shown. Alongside this, Toby and I are starting our own studio. We’re trying to establish ourselves as a directing duo, as when I’m not doing photography I do art direction and Toby is a filmmaker so we go together really well. We’ve already done 2 projects together and our studio is called Marble Creative, so hopefully in the next few months we’re going to expand and get some new clients.
Find out more about Derek here!
Go and see Derek’s photography project in Deptford Does Art Gallery:
For more info and tickets click here.
