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This is the second edition of the Artphilein Photobook Contest. The award grants the winner with the production of the photobook to be published by Artphilein Editions and an exhibition at one of the De Pietri Artphilein Foundation spaces in Lugano and in Lenzburg, in partnership with Fotofestival Lenzburg 2024.

“In biology, regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration and tissue growth that makes genomes, cells, organisms and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage”
The first records of the word regeneration date back to the 14th century. It originally comes from the Latin verb regenerāre*, meaning ‘to bring forth again’. The prefix ‘re-’ means ‘again’ and ‘generation’ means “the act of producing or bringing into existence.”

The jury composed of Federica Chiocchetti, Caterina De Pietri, Délio Jasse and Davide Monteleone unanimously chose to award the project Yesterday We Were Girls by the artist Katie Prock.

Among the 488 projects submitted to the Contest, Prock’s proposal stood out for its original narrative potential, its relevance to the theme of the Regeneration and its reflection on the publishing form.
In the photo book project the artist wants to preserve the language of the piece Yesterday We Were Girls; a photographic and mixed media installation of great strength, delicacy and intimacy.
Through photography, collages and writing, the artist examines the reconstruction of her own identity, when as a teenager she left the Mennonite faith tradition of her family, in which she was born and raised.
“I wasn’t who I had been but had no idea who I wanted to be. In my fractured state, I turned to photography and creative writing as my mirror. These practices allowed me to rebuild myself.” Katie Prock

Katie Prock (b. 1990, Virginia Beach, U.S.A.) is a photographic artist and book maker. She earned her MFA in Studio Art at Florida Atlantic University, where she now works as an instructor. Her practice utilises alternative printing techniques and incorporates handcrafted processes which emphasise chance occurrence and imperfections. Her work and research focus on topics such as identity, gender, family history, and girlhood.

Congratulations to the ten finalists of the Contest: David Bard, Edoardo Delille / Giulia Piermartini, Simona Ghizzoni, Jeanne et Moreau, Piera Moore, Ziad Naitaddi, Oupa Nkosi, Katie Prock, Ananna Rafa, TerraProject.

And a special thanks to all the participants.