photography in all its forms

2008 Aperture Portfolio Prize Limited-Edition Print Series
Aperture Foundation is excited to announce a new addition to the limited-edition photographs program. To encourage the collection of work by emerging artists, Aperture will offer special limited-edition prints by the winner and runners-up of the Aperture Portfolio Prize. The Prize competition takes place every summer and is judged by Aperture’s editorial and curatorial staff. The purpose of the Prize is to identify trends in contemporary photography and specific artists whom we can help by bringing their work to a wider audience. In choosing the first-prize winner and runners-up, we are looking for work that is fresh and that hasn’t been widely seen in major publications or exhibition venues. Aperture is pleased to offer our collectors work by these talented artists. Proceeds from the sales of these prints will benefit both the artists and Aperture Foundation.

Artist’s Statement
"I began this body of work four years ago. The images evolved out of a thought to portray people who follow their passion at various spectator events. As the work progressed, I witnessed these amazing moments of exhilaration that were quickly consumed by unsettling, unreal dream like scenarios. The spectators and their environment become engulfed in dust and smoke, the net effect of the events and location that these people had come to witness, rendering the events and landscape indecipherable. The people’s reactions often appear at odds with the images in which they partake, their expressions and reactions often appear peaceful and dreamlike. These moments of confusion last mere seconds at pivotal moments during performances and various activities, yet the photographs seem to suggest a different story. Although the events themselves could be quite spectacular, I was more intrigued by these captured moments that pose more questions than provide answers. The events merely provide background and circumstances for the scenarios depicted."—Michael Corridore

Michael Corridore is a graduate of Photography Studies College, Australia. He opens exhibitions of this work at the Australian Centre for Photography in January 2009, and concurrently in May 2009, at the Ipswitch Art Gallery and Gippsland Art Gallery. More of his work can be seen on his website. Corridore currently lives between New York City and Sydney, Australia.