The Louis Roederer Discovery Award jury, chaired by Marie Robert, awarded Tarrah Krajnak presented by as-is.la gallery (Los Angeles, United States) for her project currently exhibited at the Rencontres d´Arles.
Selected from eleven projects, Tarrah Krajnak accompanied by as-is.la gallery was awarded the Jury Prize, which consists of an endowment of 15,000 euros which results in the acquisition of works that integrate the collection of the Rencontres d ‘ Arles, thanks to the support of the Louis Roederer Foundation and Polka.
Tarrah Krajnak
Born in 1979 in Lima, Peru, Tarrah Krajnak lives and works in Los Angeles, United States. Her work, presented as part of the Discovery Prize, Rituals of Masters II: The Nudes of Weston, draws heavily on the history of photography on the one hand and feminine and Latin American identity on the other. In line with her first critical tribute to Ansel Adams, she offers here a second part, dedicated to another North American “master”, Edward Weston, whose famous Nudes she reconstructs. She takes the place of models Bertha Wardell and Charis Wilson. While reproducing the poses of the latter, she stages herself as the author of the photographs, remote trigger in hand. Restoring to the image what Weston left out of focus – or highlighting Weston’s choices of framing – of exclusion – Krajnak re-enacts a significant chapter in the history of photography by refocusing it on the role of the female model . Through her performative and photographic act, Krajnak affirms her Latin American identity and her body of color and through her presence and her gesture of image reconstruction establishes a dialogue with her predecessor, Weston, as well as with the contemporary viewer.
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