Much has been said about the endless photographic mediocrity of the digital age. The infinite glossy ads, the stream of cheap tourist snaps and sea of selfies. You’d forgive a young photographer for feeling disillusioned. In a world where 2 billion images are uploaded to the internet every day, how can you ever be original? What power is there even left in photography?
Spread over the east and west wings of Somerset House, the Sony World Photo Awards (open until 7 May) answers these questions at full tilt.
The pictures in this mammoth exhibition were selected from over 220,000 online entries from 183 countries – amateur and professional. As an add-on, there’s a collection of work by famed British photographer Martin Parr.
Walking through the gallery, you’d be stretched to find something which didn’t move you in some way. The incredible spectrum of human experience on display is humbling enough.
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