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The WMA Open Announces Winning Entries for “Mobility”

13-6-2017
The WMA Open 2016/17, themed “Mobility”, saw more than 1,700 submissions this cycle. Coming up on top is Patrick Cho, who won the contest with his entry, “Where are you going”. The first runner up is Tam Ming-keung for “Bodies of Violence and Institutional Violence”, and coming in third place is Chang Hei-tung Dan’s “游”.

Winner: Patrick Cho “Where are you going” Where are you going

First Runner-up: Tam Ming-keung “Bodies of Violence and Institutional Violence” Bodies of Violence and institutional violence

Second Runner-up: Chang Hei-tung Dan “游”

“Movement is perhaps one of the strongest visual effects that can easily be captured by a camera. With a huge number of entries to this year’s WMA Open, it was not surprising to find so many visually intriguing images that have utilised a slow shutter speed to illustrate mobility. As judges, we tried to pick photos that were not only interesting to look at but were also able to stimulate and spark further debate. I want to congratulate the winners and all the finalists in helping to create new dialogues and starting conversations about the city”, said WMA Masters winner and WMA Open Judge Kurt Tong.

Former WMA Masters finalist and WMA Open Judge Johnny Gin shared his perspective on this year’s winning entries: “An image is never an end, always a beginning. There is no doubt that all the shortlisted entries demonstrated technical proficiency, but the winning images, in particular, exceeded expectations in terms of artistic vision and the ability to stimulate dialogue and social participation. And this year’s winning photographs as well as shortlisted images further underscore the importance of thoughtful image-making in our increasingly hyper-visual society.”

When choosing the winners, the judges took into account the results of the public vote. All of the finalists’ entries were displayed at the WMA Masters exhibition on “Mobility” at the Comix Home Base in April 2017.

To continue the conversations inspired by the submissions, the WMA Open maintains a gallery of images governed by Creative Commons licenses, which can be used with appropriate attribution for educational and non-commercial uses such as lectures and non-commercial projects. The gallery also serves as a photographic archive of contemporary Hong Kong.

Three cash prizes worth HK$20,000, HK$10,000 and HK$5,000 will respectively be awarded to the three winners of the WMA Open.

The upcoming WMA Open theme will be “Transition”.