Photographer of the Year

In a tiny fraction of Earth’s history, humans have altered the world beyond anything it has experienced in tens of millions of years. Scientists are calling it a new epoch: The Anthropocene – the age of human. Future geologists will find evidence in the rock strata of an unprecedented human impact on our planet, from huge concentrations of plastics to the fallout from the burning of fossil fuels, and vast deposits of concrete used to build our cities. We are forcing animals and plants to extinction by removing their habitats, and divorcing ourselves from the land we once roamed. Yet we cannot face the true scale of our loss. Somewhere within us the desire for contact with nature remains. ‘So, while we devastate the world around us, we have become masters of a stage-managed, artificial ‘experience’ of nature – a reassuring spectacle, an illusion.’ Over six years, and across four continents, Zed Nelson has explored how we immerse ourselves in increasingly choreographed and simulated environments to mask our destructive impact on the natural world.

Zed Nelson is known for long-term projects that explore contemporary society. His work is driven by a critical focus on the intersection of modern capitalism and human psychology Recognised by several major awards, Nelson has published three monographs; ‘Gun Nation’, ‘Love Me’ and, ‘A Portrait of Hackney’. His work has toured internationally in solo exhibitions and been included in group exhibitions at Tate Britain, the National Portrait Gallery and the V&A museum, UK.