Viviane Sassen wins Prix de Rome

From the jury report:

'According to the jury Sassen's work is of high quality and displays hope for the development of photography, precisely at a moment when the medium has reached a deadlock. She succeeds in improving herself and creating innovatory photojournalism. She plays with mise en scène and enters into a genuine collaboration with the people she photographs without reverting to manipulation or voyeurism. Furthermore, she transcends her subjects; the photographs are not purely about death, loss and urban life in Africa but also about humanity, cultural clichés, Sassen's personal life story and aesthetics. According to the jury her work is not 'pseudo-anthropological, pseudo-sociological, or pseudo-site-specific-art but authentic art'. Some of the jury members designate a number of 'masterpieces'.'