Photojournalism nominee

Papua New Guinea is the world's most heterogenous nations which is struggling to unify over 800 tribes into one national identity. The introduction of the modern Western world to PNG has been both rapid and highly disruptive to the traditional rural lifestyles. Natural disasters, official corruption, poverty, rampant crime and devastating mining, logging and fishing practices by international corporations are further exasperating the situation. These images are part of a series illustrating how the modern world and a highly volatile PNG awkwardly co-exist. Wherever possible I have tried to inject a sense of humour into the photos to add a degree of poignancy and to reflect the darkly satirical sense of humour used by many Melanesians as a way of coping with the immense changes being thrust upon them.

I was born and am still based in Sydney. After graduating in Architecture from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 1980 I spent a decade travelling to over 120 countries on six continents photographing the people, cultures and landscapes of the world. In 1992 I was appointed as the first Chief Photographer for Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and the Pacific Islands for the international news service Agence France-Presse (AFP) until I launched my solo career in 2012. My photographs of news, sports and features throughout Oceania have been distributed to more than 13,000 newspapers and publications in 165 countries. My images are distributed globally through AFP, Getty Images, Corbis, the Australian Associated Press (AAP), as well as thousands of websites. I have participated in numerous group and solo photographic exhibitions in Brazil, the United States and Australia. Currently I'm working with the renowned American photographer Sandro Miller to produce the major exhibition and portrait book 'I Am Papua New Guinea', featuring the highlander, islander and coastal tribes of the world’s most heterogeneous nation. A list of the major news and sporting events I have covered and a comprehensive portfolio of my work is available on my website: TorstenBlackwood.com