WINNER

Bruno Pereira Ribeiro

Westernmost

The 2nd edition of the NARRATIVA – FUJIFILM Award received 175 entries, reinforcing the interest and participation in this initiative dedicated to contemporary photography in Portugal. Aimed at authors aged 18 or older, at different stages of their artistic careers, the award distinguishes original projects that explore new perspectives and photographic languages.

After evaluating the proposals, the jury, composed of Yael Martinez, Ana Rocha, and Mário Cruz, selected Westernmost, by Bruno Pereira Ribeiro, as the winning project. Based on observations of the island of Santo Antão, in Cape Verde, the author explores the boundaries that define territories and the relationships between landscape and human presence. Through a visual narrative that combines documentary observation and conceptual reflection, the project addresses issues of isolation, permanence, and transformation, revealing the complexity of an insular and peripheral territory.

Two honorable mentions were also awarded: to Tatiana Iartseva, for the work Secret Garden, and to David Henriques, for the project Parque.

The selection brings together different approaches to imagery, ranging from social essays and documentary photography to authorial research, reflecting the diversity of practices present in this edition.

As part of the prize, Bruno Pereira Ribeiro will receive €3,500 and will present Westernmost in a solo exhibition at NARRATIVA in Lisbon, opening in January 2027. The projects of Tatiana Iartseva and David Henriques will be presented in a public session, also at NARRATIVA.

  • The jury distinguished Bruno Pereira Ribeiro's project, Westernmost, for the way it transforms the observation of the island of Santo Antão, in Cape Verde, into a reflection on the complexity of territories and the fragility of the borders that define them. Starting from a landscape marked by contrasts, the author questions the seemingly evident divisions of space, revealing a reality in which the opposition between natural elements gives way to subtle relationships of continuity and transformation.

    Through a coherent and sensorially expressive visual narrative, Bruno Pereira Ribeiro brings the materiality of the landscape closer to the signs of human intervention, constructing an essay that articulates documentary observation and conceptual reflection. The insular and peripheral condition of Santo Antão acquires, in this context, a meaning that transcends geography, raising questions about isolation, permanence, and the relationship between human beings and the environment they inhabit. Attention to matter, light, and color allows the photographer to explore these tensions without reducing them to immediate interpretations.

    Westernmost distinguishes itself through its ability to construct an open narrative, in which images complement and expand upon each other, preserving the complexity of what they observe. The jury highlights the uniqueness of Bruno Pereira Ribeiro's essay and the consistency of an approach that transforms the observation of a territory into a visual experience that extends beyond the images, inviting a more attentive understanding of the relationships between landscape, matter, and human presence.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Tatiana Iartseva

Secret Garden

  • The jury awarded an honorable mention to Tatiana Iartseva's project, Secret Garden, for the way it explores, through photography, the relationship between identity and aspects of human nature that we tend to repress or reject.

    By placing her own body at the center of her work, Tatiana Iartseva transforms self-representation into an exercise in experimentation and discovery. Through artisanal printing techniques with natural elements, she explores the transformation of the figure and its relationship with its surroundings, creating sensory images that oscillate between presence and disappearance.

    Secret Garden stands out for its articulation between personal research and experimentation, revealing how the creative process can constitute a form of knowledge. The jury highlights the intimacy of the approach, which places the author's experience as the basis of the photographic investigation, converting vulnerability into a possibility for recognition and transformation.

David Henriques

Parque

  • The jury awarded an honorable mention to David Henriques' project, Parque, for the way it addresses the contradictions of a territory deeply marked by tourism, taking as its starting point the condominium where the author lives and which has been part of his family's history for generations. In a space that functions simultaneously as a permanent residence and temporary accommodation, the photographer finds a place where different ways of living intersect.

    From this biographical relationship with the place, David Henriques constructs a visual narrative that articulates proximity and distance. Direct knowledge of the space does not preclude a critical look at its contradictions; rather, it allows him to observe how the transformation of the Algarve is reflected in a territory that is simultaneously familiar and devoid of clear identity references.

    The photography reveals an environment formatted to meet the expectations of tourism, where architectural repetition and spatial organization seem to suspend the cultural particularities of the place, without erasing the signs of a daily life that persists beyond its tourist function. The jury highlights the construction of a subtle and consistent narrative, which starts from a personal experience to interrogate a collective reality.

NARRATIVA and Fujifilm Portugal would like to thank all the participants who joined the second edition of the NARRATIVA – FUJIFILM Photography Award. This initiative aims to recognize and value photographic expression in Portugal, giving visibility to projects that tell stories through images and reflect the country's cultural and artistic diversity. The submitted entries are an excellent sign of the vitality of photography in Portugal and the authors' commitment to their practice.