The winners

1st: Dmytro Kupriyan - Ukraine

— Home #2
From series “Home”

In his series, Home, Kupriyan explores the human environment and our innate need for the opposite. Kupriyan illuminates landscapes and other natural views with projections of buildings or architectural elements on top of them. The resulting images highlight our man-made creations invading the natural world.

2nd: Elena Aya Bundurakis - Greece

— Touching Glutinous II,
From series "Eating Magma"

Bundurakis examines the very idea of being a living organism in her series “Eating Magma”. Through her work, Bundurakis aims to show that at our core, “we all have our vital senses to help us experience this world in a sensuous, cooperative way, along with other organisms.” Her work highlights the importance of observation, a skill that is becoming easily lost in our increasingly over-stimulating world.

3rd: Lorenzo Maccotta - Italy

— LMA-05

Air collection and treatment pipes are intersected by a thriving green tree in Maccotta’s “LMA-05”. Here, at the Bresso Niguarda depuration plant in Milan, Maccotta captures the convergence of nature and urban structure.

Meet the judges

Eslah Attar

Photo Editor, The New York Times

What do you think makes a great photograph?
I appreciate when something surprises me, educates me, and brings a different perspective than mine.

What excites you about this contest?
I’m excited to see the intersection of nature and human life because I feel we are all deeply connected to earth and to each other.

Nicole Archibeque

Co-Founder/Partner NAVA Contemporary

What do you think makes a great photograph?
I think like all great art, great photographs are like ghosts. The feeling they give you lasts long after you viewed the work. It transports you to a time and place, and that feeling stays with you.

What excites you about this contest?
Discovering new artists!

Prasenjeet Yadav

Natural history & Science photographer

What do you think makes a great photograph?
I think a great photograph induces multiple emotions in the viewer. It surprises the viewer and makes them wonder, sad or joyful. Also, one doesn't have to go to a national park to create a great wildlife photograph; it can be made in your backyard. A butterfly in the garden or a bird chirping across your window is also wild, and a good image is a unique composition of some of the most common subjects.

What excites you about this contest?
What excites me most about this contest is the theme of bringing nature closer. The fact is we are surrounded by nature even in our urban setting, just that we ignore it as it's right in front of us.

Daniel Diego Lincoln

Creative Director at SUGi Project

What do you think makes a great photograph?
For me a great photograph makes me see the world in a way that I had not previously seen before. Great photography has a weight that it's hard to describe. It's not an obvious image to capture of the world.

What excites you about this contest?
I think it's exciting to challenge people to express what it means 'bringing nature closer' as it's really a personal idea. Also to see how that differs culturally and geographically.

A Gallery for the Forests

NAVA Contemporary is an art advisory and online gallery showcasing a remarkable collection of original work and limited editions from artists around the world. Always pushing the envelope of creativity, NAVA is partnering with SUGi to build biodiversity through a dedicated offering on Samsung’s Frame Television, a powerful visual platform that turns TV screens into artwork. This innovative collaboration will be extended through the launch of an annual NAVA x SUGi Photographic Arts Contest and Exhibition to support the next generation of photographers in bringing Nature closer to everyone everywhere.