Eric Gyamfi wins the Foam Paul Huf Award

Ghanaian photographer Eric Gyamfi has won the 13th Foam Paul Huf Award, which is given annually to a photographer under the age of 35.

Gyamfi won the award for all his work to date, including his most recent project, Fixing Shadows; Julius and I. Photographs die and are reincarnated,” stated the photographer, who wins £20,000, a solo show at Foam in Amsterdam, and a spot in Foam Magazine‘s Talent Issue and travelling exhibition. “I am interested in what happens to the life of the photograph as it gets sited through time, through death. Fixing shadows; Julius and I, works on the space/life between two photographs, mapped/permutated through different times, encounters and potentialities, as they move through a certain death.”

untitled, from the series Fixing shadows; Julius and I © Eric Gyamfi

Gyamfi was picked out from 100 nominees from 24 countries by the jury, which comprised of: Tristan Lund (chair), independent art consultant and curator, UK; Jop van Bennekom, creative director Fantastic Man, the Netherlands; Bruno Ceschel, director of Self Publish, Be Happy, Italy; Elena Navarro, director of the Centro de la Imagen, Mexi; and Azu Nwagbogu, chief curator of Seitz Mocaa, South Africa.

“Eric was unanimously chosen as the winner of the Foam Paul Huf Award for his diverse artistic approach, the immersive nature of his work, and the combination of highly personal subject mater with an underlying political message,” commented the jury.

“We found a Trojan horse-like approach to his practice – beautiful, formal qualities with varied methods of production and a non-linear approach – which was refreshing and significant. We are confident that this award will give him an incredible opportunity to expand his ideas and work with the curators to realise his first-ever solo museum exhibition at Foam.”

untitled, from the series Fixing shadows; Julius and I © Eric Gyamfi

Gyamfi was born in Ghana in 1990, and completed a BA in Economics and Information Studies at the University of Ghana in 2014. He is currently pursuing an MFA at the Department of painting and sculpture, at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and is also a fellow at the Photographers’ Master Class in Khartoum, Sudan, 2016; Nairobi, Kenya, 2017; and Johannesburg, South Africa, 2018. He was an invited participant to the Nuku Studio Photography Workshops in 2-16, and the World Press Photo West African Masterclass in 2017, and received the 2016 Magnum Foundation Fund. He is a member of the nuku studio, Ghana.

Paul Huf was a Dutch photographer instrumental in helping set up the Foam Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam in 2001. The Foam Paul Huf Award was established in 2007, and previous winners include Daniel Shea (2018), Daisuke Yokota (2016), Alexander Gronsky (1980), and Pieter Hugo (1976).

untitled, from the series Fixing shadows; Julius and I © Eric Gyamfi
untitled, from the series Fixing shadows; Julius and I © Eric Gyamfi
untitled, from the series Fixing shadows; Julius and I © Eric Gyamfi
untitled, from the series Fixing shadows; Julius and I © Eric Gyamfi
untitled, from the series Fixing shadows; Julius and I © Eric Gyamfi
untitled, from the series Fixing shadows; Julius and I © Eric Gyamfi
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