Growth : Prix Pictet

The theme of the third Prix Pictet is Growth. At once a blessing and a curse, growth, in all its forms, is one of the great conundrums facing humanity in the early decades of the twenty-first century. From the dizzying expansion of our cities with their ever increasing consumption of scarce natural resources to the relentless growth of populations and the need to feed ourselves.

So growth is a paradox. Just as it threatens to bring environmental catastrophe, so it improves living standards and health for untold millions around the world. We now face a global crisis in land use and agriculture that could undermine the health, security and sustainability of our civilisation. Meeting these huge new demands will be one of the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century.

This paradoxical theme has proved to be a rich source of inspiration to the artists and nominators of the third cycle of the Prix Pictet. Over 450 nominated artists submitted many outstanding images that communicated powerful messages about the devastating impact of unsustainable human enterprise. After much debate, the independent Jury shortlisted twelve artists from eight different countries for the third Prix Pictet. In shortlisting these photographers, it is inevitable that some remarkable individual images from other photographers have been excluded.

This book brings many of these photographs together with those made by the shortlisted photographers and, in doing so, presents a haunting testament to the consequences of a headlong dash for growth. Taken together they constitute a compelling call for action. As Kofi Annan, the Prix Pictet's Honorary President, has said, "These images deepen our understanding of the changes taking place in our world, raise public awareness of the scale of the threat we face and the urgency of taking preventative action."

The skill, imagination and mastery of form that each of the artists featured in this book brings to their work speaks for itself. What is less obvious is the conviction and, in many cases, the courage with which they have documented the harmful and often irreversible effects of exploiting the Earth's resources and the long-term impact of unsustainable development on communities across the globe. It is these qualities too that Growth intends to recognise. In the words of photographer, critic and Prix Pictet nominator Jörg M. Colberg, "This is not art for art's sake; it is art for our own sake."