The Intimate Psychological Well being sequence wins the Wellcome Images Prize 2020
Arseniy Neskhodimov's self-portrait series Prozac earned him first place in the Wellcome Photography Prize 2020 and the winner in the Series category. This year's award focused on the theme of mental health to "challenge prejudice and stereotypes and take a more authentic look at people's experiences with mental health".
Neskhodimov was born in Uzbekistan and now lives in Moscow. His series uses photographs to document the depression he has experienced since he was 20 years old. After finding antidepressants not helpful, he set out to find an environment that would make him happier. The search led him to his parents' home in Moscow and Sharm El Sheik in Egypt, where he photographed the winning streak, which includes a picture of Neskhodimov submerged in dark water and quiet, lonely moments in resort hotels.
Above: Self-portrait as a beach-goer. Here: Self-portrait in the Hotel Rauf. Both images from the series Prozac by Arseniy Neskhodimov, 2018-2019
"My self-portrait stories are a kind of therapy that helps me ward off the attacks of despair and loss of meaning, especially in this difficult pandemic time," explains Neskhodimov. "I've been home unemployed for three months and the only thing that brings meaning to my life is to keep taking pictures."
The series was commended by Wellcome & # 39; s Miranda Wolpert for highlighting “the complexities of both the emotions and coping mechanisms that underpin each person's journey with their sanity. Neskhodimov's visually engaging series conveys both the lingering pain he is experiencing and the strategies for dealing with it – including humor and creativity. "
In addition to Neskhodimov, the winners of the four remaining categories included the Dutch photographer Marijn Fidder, whose picture of an 11-year-old with a brain tumor won the Social Perspectives category. Nigerian documentary photographer Jenevieve Aken won the Hidden Worlds category with Monankim, a gripping picture of a young girl from the Bakor community, from which the photographer also comes. She sits in a healing room after her circumcision, a controversial practice that makes her a monankim.
Monankim by Jenevieve Aken, 2017
Hadia by Julia Gunther and Sophia Mohammed, 2018
Holding on to Daddy by Benji Reid, 2018
Maps by Marijn Fidder, 2018
The “Medicine in Focus” category was won by Julia Gunther's picture of Sophia Mohammed, a rehabilitation expert in South Sudan treating birth defects in four-month-old Hadia, who was born with spina bifida, club foot and fluid in the brain. The winner of the last category is British photographer Benji Reid, who has long been through depression. His inspired photo shows him as a "broken astronaut" tied to his daughter and thus to the real world.
The overall theme of this year's award will be further explored in specially commissioned work by photographer Siân Davey, who was also a judge this year, and the Covid-19 fear project, in which five photographers examine how the pandemic is affecting mental health Impacted the public.
Self-portrait with Christmas trees. All images from the Prozac series by Arseniy Neskhodimov, 2018-19
Self-portrait with a tennis racket
Self-portrait in the Aida Hotel
View all winning and shortlisted works here. wellcome.ac.uk