Portrait nominee

Mary (Soulmary) Kiptalam Chemeli was born in the south of Kenya, where she spent her early years in a small village. Abandoned by her mother she and her two siblings were raised by her stepfather, suffering from regular violence. Years later her mother returned and brought her to Switzerland when she was ten. But soon after, the mother died from sickness, leaving Mary alone as an orphan in an SOS Children's Village. Growing up in Switzerland, Mary struggled with Identity and her violent past in the Kenyan village. Eventually she discovered the village Einsiedeln and its monastery as a place of strength and peace, that she regularly visits in order to find peace and harmony when the ghosts of the past haunt her. Today Mary curates the Black Art Matters festival to promote african artists in Zurich.

The Einsiedeln Monastery is also home of a Black Madonna, which is famous around the world. In this series Patrick Lambertz uses the energy of the place and the natural light to create expressive portrait imagery.

Patrick was born 1972 and raised in Germany, Ghana and Belgium. He initially studied filmmaking in Berlin, working with artists like Wim Wenders, Rosa von Praunheim and Shirin Neshat. He later moved to Switzerland working for the brand X-BIONIC as Head of Marketing and COO. He started exhibiting his work when he was 18 years old and received awards for his early photography and work as a filmmaker. Today he lives in Switzerland with his wife and three kids.

Awards
1993 - German Youth Photography Award
1994 - German Youth Photography Award
2000 - German Short Film Award - Nomination
2002 - German Camera Award Filmstiftung NRW

Exhibitions
1993 - German Youth Photography Award, Group Exhibition, Leipzig
1994 - German Youth Photography Award, Group Exhibition, Leipzig
2019 - PhotoSchweiz, Zürich
2019 - Gallery Breitenhof, Cultural Commission of City of Altendorf, Switzerland
2019 - Hall of Frame Studiogallery Lachen, Switzerland
2019 - Belvedere Zurich, Switzerland (Upcoming September 2019)
2019 - Swissness Applied, Kunsthaus Glarus, Güterschuppen, Switzerland (Upcoming October 2019)
2020 - Galerie Reinart Schaffhausen - Group Show AQUADROM II
2020 - RENDEZVOUS DES IMAGES - Group Show
2022 - artKarlsruhe, International ArtFair - Works
2022 Hartmann Projects, Stuttgart