Photographer Who Couch-Surfed On The Faroe Islands Wins ZEISS Photo Award

Kevin Faingnaert has been announced by the World Photography Organisation and ZEISS as the winner of the 2017 ZEISS Photography Award for his series that captures life on Europe’s best-kept secret, the Faroe Islands.

Responding to the photo award’s theme of ‘Meaningful Places’, the Belgian photographer’s winning series, Føroyar, looks at the small village communities of the remote Faroe Islands, a sparsely populated volcanic archipelago that sits halfway between Norway and Iceland in the North Atlantic Sea. The stunning Faroe Islands are also a challenging place to live, which Faingnaert attempted to convey in his winning series: ‘I tried to reveal a community hanging on firmly to their roots and traditions, while underlining that one day these villages must inevitably disappear.’

Kevin Faingnaert, House in the village of Gásadalur. Population: 16, 2017

Known for his work that focuses on small groups who live outside of mainstream culture, the social documentary photographer’s series captures the characters who live on the islands, such as the famous artist and adventurer, Tróndur Patursson, as well as the sheer seclusion of the wild landscape: ‘In February 2016 I immersed myself within the Faroese community. I couch-surfed and hitch-hiked my way across the islands, finding doors opening to me everywhere I went. There, across swathes of snow-veiled landscapes and bordered by dramatic coastline, villages are slowly dropping into decline as more and more of their inhabitants are emigrating from the islands in pursuit of greater opportunities.’

Kevin Faingnaert, Tróndur Patursson in Kirkjabøur, Faroe Islands, 2017

‘There is a wonderful completeness to Kevin’s series; epic landscapes mix with tenderly composed portraits, tied together by a soft muted palette, which immediately draws you in,’ said one of the judges Claire Richardson, picture editor of Lonely Planet Traveller.
Both the winner and the nine shortlisted photographers (featured below) were selected from over 31,000 images submitted by 4,677 photographers from 132 countries. Each were chosen for their ability to look beyond the everyday and the ordinary in order to capture the ‘extraordinary aspects of the world we live in.’ You’ll be able to see their work as part of the Sony World Photography Award in London later this year.

Shortlisted photographers

Ben Bond Obiri Asamoah, Portrait of the North, 2017

Christopher Roche, Monlam Prayer Festival from ‘Devotion’, 2017

Mario Adario, The Exorcist from the series ‘Ethiopian Christmas Pilgrimage to Lalibela’, 2017

Fabian Muir, The hands that rock the cradle from the series ‘Shades of Leisure in North Korea’, 2017

Anna Filipova, The Arctic Research station from the series ‘Research at the end of the world’, 2017

Frederik Buyckx, Leaving Town from the series ‘Horse Head’, 2017

Nicholas White, Giles at Camasunary Bothy, Isle of Skye, Scotland from the series ‘Black Dots’, 2017

Sony World Photography Awards & Martin Parr – 2017 Exhibition will be at Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA from April 21 to May 7, 2017.

About the author

Freire Barnes

Art & Design Editor

Born in the heart of London, Freire's been surrounded by art since childhood. From being mesmerised by Fra Angelico's frescos in Florence to experiencing Dali's Mae West room in Caduceus, Freire's extensive travels instilled a love of the arts. After studying painting she worked for David Bowie's, Bowieart and began to write for the BBC, Bon and Dazed &amp Confused. She curated the Converse x Dazed Emerging Artists Award and was one of the first cohort to graduate from the Royal College of Art's Critical Writing in Art &amp Design MA. When not at an art opening, she's excited to bring her global art discoveries to the Culture Trip's readers.