The Prix Pictet Award is one of the most prestigious prizes in the art world. Founded in 2008, it spotlights the artists who are harnessing the power of photography to draw global attention to critical sustainability issues. The latest instalment, Storm, represents both a natural phenomenon and a metaphor for the unseen and relentless forces that shape our world today. The theme speaks to the growing volatility of our environmental, socioeconomic and political landscapes, each seemingly on the brink of crisis. The Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College in Chicago, presents this award’s 11th edition, marking its US debut. Karen Irvine, Chief Curator of MoCP, says: ““It is a privilege to present Prix Pictet Storm at MoCP as part of its engagement with urgent global dialogues, showcasing the powerful work of 12 shortlisted artists whose practices confront the realities of the climate crisis and widespread political turbulence.” We spotlight five impactful images from the upcoming exhibition.
Alfredo Jaar | The End
The End focuses on the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Scientists have described the situation there as an “environmental nuclear bomb.” The lake is a key ecosystem in the western hemisphere, but is being destroyed by excessive water extraction. It has lost 73% of its water and 60% of its surface area since the mid-19th century, exposing toxic dust and driving salinity to dangerous levels. Many observers believe this unfolding disaster is past the point of no return. As the lake disappears, the resulting dust blows around, loaded with toxic particles and poisoning the local wildlife, leading to the massive loss of birds.
Laetitia Vançon | Tribute to Odesa
Tribute to Odesa is a work close to Vançon’s heart. It began as an assignment for The New York Times and marked her first steps in a country at war. The goal was to portray Odesa on the Ukrainian Black Sea coast, a city of both strategic and symbolic importance. Over time, it evolved into a personal tribute to the strength of humanness she encountered there. She came to understand that, “beyond the frontlines, another kind of storm was unfolding, more intimate, rooted in daily life – resilience and quiet defiance. Odesa stood at a crossroads – between land and sea, past and future, peace and war.”
Hannah Modigh | Hurricane Season
The series was photographed in southern Louisiana, where the threat of hurricanes arrives annually, but the storm around some people is felt daily, behind doors, within the individual. Hurricane Season is a metaphor for an atmosphere of living on the verge of eruption, for a sense that uncertainty, fear and anger bubble beneath the deceptively calm surface. Initially, Modigh was interested in Louisiana because of its violent history. During her time there, she realised that fear of hurricanes and the undertone of aggression in large parts of society came from the same source: they were natural reactions to feelings of threat.
Camille Seaman | The Big Cloud
Camille Seaman is not a born storm-chaser. When she began chasing in 2008, she knew little about what she was doing or about the weather more broadly. As part of her continuing exploration of subjects in nature that illustrate the interconnection of all life on Earth, Seaman went chasing a type of thunderstorm called a supercell, which can produce grapefruit-sized hail and spectacular tornadoes. They can be up to eighty kilometres wide and reach as high as 20,000 metres into the atmosphere. The clouds Seaman was chasing were so large they could block out the daylight, creating a dark, ominous space beneath them.
Belal Khaled | Hands Tell Stories
This project began in a tent set up outside the morgue at Nasser Hospital, where Khaled was staying after his home was destroyed during the war. The tent overlooked an area where bodies were being gathered after the morgue had reached full capacity. It was there, surrounded by the smell of death and the constant sound of drones overhead, that he began documenting hands. This series presents different moments of war through the language of hands. Each image captures a separate human experience, but together they form a visual sequence that reflects the journey from loss to the will to live.
Prix Pictet Storm is at Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago from 29 May – 22 August: mocp.org
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
1&5. Camille Seaman, The Lovely Monster over the Farm, 19.15 CST, Lodgepole, Nebraska, 22 June 2012 (2012). From the series The Big Cloud (2008–14). Image courtesy of the artist.
2. Alfredo Jarr, The End (GSL_a) (2025). From the series The End (2025). Image courtesy of the artist.
3. Laetitia Vançon, Keep Dancing to the Beat of Your Heart (2022). From the series Tribute to Odesa (2022). Image courtesy of the artist.
4. Hannah Modigh, Boy and Cherry Picker Truck (2012). From the series Hurricane Season (2012). Image courtesy of the artist.
6. Belal Khaled, Untitled (2023). From the series Hands Tell Stories (2023–24). Image courtesy of the artist
