Simone Sapienza
Palermo, Italia
Simone Sapienza (b.1990) is a documentary photographer, recently graduated in Documentary Photography (First Class with Hons) from the University of South Wales – Newport.
He has received several international prizes awarded by The British Journal of Photography, PDN, Photographic Museum of Humanity, amongst others listed below.
His pictures have been published on several magazines such as The British Journal of Photography, Io Donna, New Republic, PDN, La Stampa, R2 - La Repubblica and others.
Simone has been exhibited and displayed worldwide in festivals, shows, screenings, such as JaipurPhoto (India), Fotoleggendo (Rome), BJP Breakthrough (UK), Pingyao Festival (China), Thessaloniki Photobiennale (Greece) and many others listed below.
Since 2015, he is the co-founder and co-director of Gazebook – Sicily Photobook Festival. Simone lives in Palermo, where he is one of the five members of Minimum.
2017 - Winner, PDN Edu (USA), 2016 - Winner, BJP Breakthrough (UK), 2016 - Honorable Mention, Pesaresi Prize (Italy), 2016 - 3rd place, Fotoleggendo Portfolio Prize (Italy), 2015 - 2nd place, Tabò Prize (Italy), 2015 - Honorable Mention, PH Museum Grant, 2014 - Nominee, Moving Image Photographer of the Year, 2012 - Winner, Ragusa Photo Festival (Italy), 2017 - Nominee, Joop Swart Masterclass 2017
- Arts
- Corporate
- Editorial
- Entertainment
- Events
- Interior
- Interview
- Reporting
- Still life
- Video capture
Charlie surfs on Lotus Flowers
Simone Sapienza
Fascinated by the contradictions of post-war Vietnam, a country somewhat in limbo between free-market capitalism and the strict rules of the Communist party, I embarked on a journey to explore the country beyond its perfect travel photographs. In fact, modern Vietnam has radically changed its ambitions and dreams. Populated by a young and energetic new generation, the country is likely to become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. However, behind this illusive economic freedom, the Communist government still holds absolute political power. Departing from the conventional photojournalistic approach, I made a sequence of metaphorical responses to notions of power, economy, energy, exoticism and politics that characterise the current Vietnamese society. Allusive and ambiguous, the images prompt the viewer to question their presumptions about a country that is still ruled with order and control, yet eager to ride the wave of economic freedom
United States of Vietnam
Simone Sapienza
“The United States of Vietnam” is a project that reflects on the current economical and social aspects of Vietnam in comparison with its history and society. The project represents Vietnam under its recent Western guise, enhancing the fascination for the consumeristic culture through past, present and future of the Vietnamese society. The flag as body of work represents this provocative, political, trend reversal in Vietnam featuring six different series that create an hypothetical, provocative, graphic, Vietnamese flag if USA had not lost the war.