Johannesburg Schoolboy Image Wins Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize

Claudio Rasano won the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2016 for his portrait of a Johannesburg schoolboy, the National Portrait Gallery has announced. The prestigious £15,000 award was presented to the Swiss-Italian photographer at an awards ceremony last night (Tuesday, 15 November 2016).

The winning portrait, part of Rasano's series Similar Uniforms: We Refuse to Compare, was taken in February 2016, in Johannesburg, South Africa and focuses on issues of preserving individuality in the context of school uniforms. The photograph was shot in daylight, outdoors and in front of a plain white paper background. The sitter for this particular inkjet print is eighteen-year-old Katlehong Matsenen.

Rasano explains: "Children themselves have been known to rebel against uniforms, especially as they approach the awkward age characterised by the need to fit in and the desire to stand out, all at the same time. Some experts too have spoken against school uniforms on the grounds that they suppress individuality and diversity."

Claudio Rasano was born in 1970 in Basel, Switzerland. His work has been included in numerous international exhibitions and previously featured in the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize in 2011 and 2013. Rasano's awards include the Shortlist for the Athens Photo Festival, 2016; Bieler Fototage 2015; Leica Oskar Branack Prize 2015 and a finalist in the Photography Masters Cup 2015.

Second prize has been awarded to Joni Sternbach's large-format tintype portrait of surfers Thea Adler and Maxwell Schultz and third prize has gone to Kovi Konowiecki for his photographs Shimi Beitar Illit and Tilly and Itty Beitar Illit part of a series of inkjet prints that portray Orthodox Jews from around the world. The John Kobal New Work Award, worth £5,000, was won by Josh Redman for his portrait, Frances.

Check out last year's winner in our article.