Yan Wang Preston wins the Syngenta Photography Award

The British-Chinese photographer topped the Professional Commission category with a long-term project titled Forest, which explores the relationship between urbanisation and nature, via China’s tree-dealing business. She’s received a US$15,000 cash prize, plus up to $25,000 to expand the project. Preston’s work will go on show at Somerset House from 09 March – 28 March, alongside the other winners and a curated selection of other work from the competition, which was themed Grow-Conserve this year.

Forest #3, 2011 © Yan Wang Preston
Forest #3, 2011 © Yan Wang Preston
Forest #4, 2011 © Yan Wang Preston
Forest #4, 2011 © Yan Wang Preston
Preston is also showing work at Impressions Gallery from 31 March – 24 June – a solo show called Mother River, which was shot over four years along the Yangtze River. The river measures some 6211km from source to delta, and Preston used a strict system and large-format camera to make images every 100km along its length.
Second prize in the Professional category in the Syngenta award went to San Francisco-based photographer Lucas Foglia for his series Frontcountry – a project previously featured in BJP. First prize in Sygenta’s Open competition went to Kenneth O’Halloran for a photograph depicting rice production in Tonte, Togo. Matt Hamon took second prize in the open category for his image of a woman nursing her infant son in a meat processing shed in Yellowstone Park, Montana.
www.somersethouse.org.uk www.syngentaphoto.com
www.impressions-gallery.com www.yanpreston.com
Casey and Rowdy Horse Training, 71 Ranch, Deeth, Nevada 2012 © Lucas Foglia
Casey and Rowdy Horse Training, 71 Ranch, Deeth, Nevada 2012 © Lucas Foglia
Soccer Practice, Star Valley Braves, Afton, Wyoming 2010 © Lucas Foglia
Soccer Practice, Star Valley Braves, Afton, Wyoming 2010 © Lucas Foglia
Rice Farmer, Sanwougou Lalle, Toga, 2015 © 2016 Kenneth O’Halloran
Rice Farmer, Sanwougou Lalle, Toga, 2015 © 2016 Kenneth O’Halloran
Epona Nursing, 2016 © Matthew Hamon
Epona Nursing, 2016 © Matthew Hamon
Diane Smyth

Diane Smyth is the editor of BJP, returning for a second stint on staff in 2023 - after 15 years on the team until 2019. As a freelancer, she has written for The Guardian, FT Weekend Magazine, Creative Review, Aperture, FOAM, Aesthetica and Apollo. She has also curated exhibitions for institutions such as The Photographers Gallery and Lianzhou Foto Festival. You can follow her on instagram @dismy