Russian photographer wins Wellcome Photo Prize with project on depression
21 August 2020
Text:
Paula Erizanu
Russian photographer Arseniy Neskhodimov has won the Wellcome Photo Prize 2020 with a project on his battle with depression.
In a series of symbolic self-portraits, Neskhodimov’s winning project Prozac captures the photographer’s troubled state of mind after he moved to Moscow in 2005.
They show him trapped in his home with his parents on New Year’s Day, hidden under a Christmas tree, and travelling out-of-season in a bid to escape his depression (and save money), only to find himself alone at a sad hotel.
Neskhodimov received a £15,000 prize as the overall winner, as well as £1,250 for winning the mental health category.
Prozac: Self-Portrait as a Beach Goer. Sharm El Sheik, Egypt, 2018–19.
The Wellcome Photo Prize, which raises awareness of health issues, focused on mental well-being for their 2020 edition after the coronavirus pandemic forced people inside their homes, drastically reducing social contact.
Formed of specialists in photography, medicine, media, and science, the judging panel also selected winners in four other categories, from a shortlist of 25 professional, amateur, and student photographers from 13 countries. Find out more here.
Follow Neskhodimov on Instagram.
Prozac: Self-Portrait with Christmas Trees. "In his parents’ basement, he lies buried under a pile of Christmas trees that were briefly admired but then thrown away, no longer wanted. This is how the new year begins for them"
Prozac: Self-Portrait with a Tennis Racket. "Staying with his parents and lacking income as well as energy, he felt like a burden. Here he’s cowering under the table tennis table, hardly even visible as a human."
Prozac: Self-Portrait in Aida Hotel, Sharm El Sheik, Egypt.
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