Alexandre Silberman Wins The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023

Every year, the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize commends the world’s most talented photographers, displaying a series of stunning portraits in the National Portrait Gallery’s hallowed halls. And now, for the first time since 2020, the Prize is returning to its NPG home, adorning the newly renovated walls. The winner of the prize has landed, whittled down from over 5,000 entries from 1,785 photographers – here’s everything you need to know.

The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023: The Winners

Narrowed down from this year’s shortlist of five photographers, the winner of the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023 is Alexandre Silberman with his portrait Diena. Taken in Paris, the photo features sitter Diena in her first professionally posed photograph, and is part of Silberman’s series NATURE which explores the intersection of human landscapes and the natural world, and how human interventions such as building a park or urban greenspace creates a hybrid reality between what is natural and what is constructed.

Diena by Alexandre Silberman from the series NATURE © Alexandre Silberman

‘The judges felt this portrait encompassed a compelling blend of the traditional and the contemporary,’ said a statement from the National Portrait Gallery. ‘With echoes of art historical depictions of a Madonna, the monochrome palette lends a timeless, oneiric quality to the work. However, details within the image, such as the sitter’s nose ring, floral blouse and headphones, feel fresh and current and bring the portrait firmly into the present.’

Second prize was awarded to Gilleam Trapenberg for their photograph Kisha and LaDarayon, which shows a mother and son on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. ‘The judges found this quiet and tender moment between a mother and her son who is on the brink of adolescence very moving,’ said the National Portrait Gallery. ‘The portrait draws our attention to a profound and relatable moment in the midst of an otherwise ordinary and everyday setting.’

Third prize was shared by Jake Green for Shaun Ryder, a portrait of the Happy Monday’s lead singer, and Carl Francois van der Linde for Chotu Lal Upside Down, depicting professional wrestlers from Punjab. ‘The judges were intrigued by being presented with a characterful celebrity portrait where the face is not revealed, but the personality of the sitter is still conveyed,’ the National Portrait Gallery said of Green’s work. Commenting on Francois van der Linde’s photo, it was also noted that: ‘The judges kept returning to this work to decipher the intriguing composition. The rhythm of the bodies’ shapes and forms across the image were unique and captivating.’

British photographer Serena Brown was awarded the new Taylor Wessing Photographic Commission for me nana fie, which featured the photographer’s younger sister visiting her family home in Accra, Ghana, for the first time. ‘The judges enjoyed the natural and spontaneous feel of this portrait. The sitters are casually posed, but the portrait captures their evocative expressions and emanates a sense of warmth and affection,’ said the National Portrait Gallery.

The Shortlist

The five photographers shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023 were:

• Serena Brown for ‘me nana fie’, featuring the photographer’s younger sister visiting her grandma’s home in Ghana for the first time
• Jake Green for ‘Shaun Ryder’, capturing the Happy Mondays lead singer
• Carl Francois van der Linde for ‘Chotu Lal Upside-down’, photographing professional wrestlers of Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE)
• Alexandre Silberman for ‘Diena’, considering the intersection of people and the natural world at La Courneuve park outside Paris, France
• Gilleam Trapenberg for ‘Kisha and LaDarayon, 2023’, picturing a mother and son on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin.

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Diena by Alexandre Silberman from the series NATURE © Alexandre Silberman