Two South African students from The Stellenbosch Academy in the Western Cape have been shortlisted for the Student Focus Award that forms  part of the Sony World Photo competition.

Robyn Thompson and Lyndsay Nel are among the twelve finalists from across the globe whose images best exemplify the theme of “War and Peace.”

The awards were scheduled to take place on 22 April 2010 in Cannes, France but due to the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland, which made air travel in Europe impossible, the announcement was postponed till June 2010.

Robyn describes the experience of heading to France, courtesy of Sony, as amazing. She says, “We were flown up for the final leg of the “shoot-out” between 12 students from six continents. Unfortunately, due the the volcanic eruption, only two other  student groups arrived, so they have postponed the “live brief” which will proceed in our own countries.The winning two students from the same country will be the overall winner of the awards.”

Robyn’s image, entitled Casualty of War, features a porcupine killed on a South African road. She says, “It speaks of the battle of animal rights in South Africa and how this has become such a controversial issue in everyday life." "The paw looks almost human against the gravel, giving you an uneasy, sympathising feeling.”

Lyndsay’s photograph, Raped as a “cure” for my sexuality, depicts a lesbian woman who was gang raped to cure her homosexuality. The photograph draws attention to a serious problem taking place throughout Africa, especially in the townships.

The woman in the picture, Annalisa Mfo, was a real victim of this atrocity.

While in Cannes, the girls attended talks by some of the world’s most acclaimed photographers, such as music photographer Adrian Boot and photo-journalist Chris De Bode.

Ania Wadsworth, World Photography Awards Student Focus Award coordinator, says, “We were delighted with this year’s impressive expansion of Student Focus, from 60 to 120 participating institutions from around the world. Student Focus is a unique international programme for photography students and encourages tutors around the world to passionately promote contemporary photography, engage their students with this discipline, and inspire the next generation of photographers.” For more information, please click here. 
Sally Fink