Lying on the Sofa by Zihan Wei (2nd place winner, series)

‘Whenever I took photographs, my father would ask: “There’s nothing here, what are you shooting?” My mother would scold him. “What do you know? This is art.” Did they really understand what their daughter, who was studying in art school, was doing every day? These photos were taken on their wedding anniversary.’ The full list of winners and finalists from the LensCulture portrait awards 2024 can be seen here

Safety Pin by Max Miechowski (1st place winner, series)

‘The British east coast is the fastest eroding coastline in Europe. Landslides and rising sea levels eat away at the soft foundations on which life here has been built. I expected to find a sense of urgency, but instead, the land felt still, the waters were calm, and time appeared to move slowly. Every time I return, however, something has changed. Traces of what has gone remind us of what is to come. The morning sun reveals what progress the sea has made in the night’

Oriel & Juanma by Nadia Bautista (2nd place winner, single)

‘What is love for you? My answer to this question has been changing over the years until I finally experienced it today: it is the company, time and affection that we express, in different ways, to those people we love. Celebrating their achievements, embracing their wounds, encouraging their desires and accepting them to be in freedom. This project tries to show love in different ways’

La Grande Odalisque by Ayana Gordon (finalist)

‘In this self-portrait, inspired by La Grande Odalisque, I merge my Caribbean heritage with an intimate exploration of sensuality. Echoing the iconic pose and adorned with a striking carnival headdress, the image is a celebration of my roots and a challenge to traditional male perceptions of women as mere objects of desire. It stands as a symbol of empowerment and a reclamation of identity’

Madina by Slava Lyu-fa (3rd place winner, single)

‘This is a portrait of Madina at work. Madina has been working at a dairy plant in Yakutsk, Russia, for almost 40 years. Her husband left her when she was pregnant with her first child. She has raised three children alone. Madina washes big trucks in a large garage. She has a small sitting room where I took this portrait’

Lyric at El Pais by Tony Dočekal (jurors’ picks)

‘Set against the backdrop of the American West, my upcoming book The Color of Money and Trees explores the connection between self-identity and how society defines success. As we navigate the interplay between personal aspirations, social inclusion and the expectations of the world around us, the project challenges the relentless pursuit of achievement in our capitalist landscape, where its value is often measured in monetary terms. I met nine-year-old Lyric living in a school bus in an RV park in Tucson, Arizona’

Heavy Is the Wind by Kairo Urovi (3rd place winner, series)

This is an ongoing project that finds the artist journeying back to their home country of Albania. Eleven years after their last visit and three years after a gender transition, the work explores a now unfamiliar land where complex emotions of displacement, loneliness and isolation are amplified owing to still being recognised as a girl. No matter how big the grief, Light Are the Wounds Heavy Is the Wind is a love letter to Albania and a powerful expression of trans resilience and visibility

The Bitter Face of War by Erçin Ertürk (1st place winner, single)

A Ukrainian soldier, Sergey Raylyan, lost his eyes and feet in an explosion near the city of Maryinka in the Donetsk Oblast in 2022. Then commander of a mortar artillery group of the 79th Air Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the 26-year-old was seriously wounded when he and his fellow soldiers drove a pickup truck over an anti-tank mine

Untitled, from Hearts Content Road by Logan White (jurors’ picks)

‘This is a series of surreal and allegorical portraits taken in upstate New York, exploring the dual nature of fantasy – a realm that provides both escape and excitement, yet harbours its own shadows of uncertainty. I employ staging, symbolism and candid documentation to create a collaborative mythology of shared experiences, expressing the interior narratives of historically overlooked voices, specifically, teenage girls’’

Reflections by Sarah Mensa (jurors’ picks)

‘I’ve always been fascinated by the deeply profound bonds of sisterhood. Whether through family or friendships, these bonds shape women and ultimately those around them. Through a feminine perspective, my series Centred emphasises the importance of the bonds of sisterhood and the generational influence of family and tradition on our self-growth and awareness. Resonating across generations, the project serves as a powerful reminder to acknowledge the influence of our early experiences on our lives’

Mila, from Last Day of School by Marko Risovic (finalist)

Mila is posing in the school lobby with a bouquet of freshly picked flowers, brought to her teacher Nelica on the first day of the second semester. Mila’s younger brother will be the last child in this school before the school bell goes silent for good, if it doesn’t happen even earlier. In Serbia, there are more than 80 elementary schools with only one pupil attending, and hundreds more that have stopped working in the recent past or will do in the near future’

Jeanne, Soeur by Arthur Mercier (finalist)

‘This is a portrait of my dear sister Jeanne in her everyday life on a soft summer afternoon’