A monochrome portrait of a girl with a painted face mask and a steely expression has become the winning image for the UAE in the National Award for Sony World Photography Awards 2021.
Shot by Barcelona-born photographer Mireia Vilaplana, who lives in Dubai, the image features Clara, her 9-year-old daughter, and belongs to a series titled Masquerade.
Conceptualised by Vilaplana as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the photo project is what she describes as a "visual exploration of our true selves". She recruited her twin children as her subjects, donning them in masks made of leaves, twigs and even toilet paper. The entire series was shot in their Dubai garden during lockdown.
“Face masks have become, without a doubt, the symbol of the global pandemic affecting us all in 2020,” the photographer said in a statement. “This photographic series explores the symbolism of masks through the use of photography’s particular ability to describe an historical moment in a conceptual form.”
Scroll through the gallery above to see the other winners of the National Awards 2021.
Vilaplana has been a Dubai resident since 2016. A self-taught photographer, she specialises in black-and-white photography and portraiture. Her images of domestic scenes and quotidian life often play with deep contrasts and shadow. “Through mundane, everyday moments, I like to incite and push the viewers on an exploratory journey of their own emotions,” she said.
Her image was selected from more than 165,000 submissions to the Open competition, in which Vilaplana’s work was entered into the portraiture category.
Part of the Sony World Photography Awards, the National Awards programme was developed by the World Photography Organisation and Sony to highlight photographers from around the globe. It received submissions from more than 50 countries this year.
Other National Awards 2021 winners include Prajwal Bhattarai, who has captured a volleyball game in the mountains of Nepal; Patrick Mueller, an American photographer whose unusual image of a sand dune and mountains was taken in Death Valley; and Saudi photographer Naif Albugami, whose highly stylised photo shoot features a man in silvery suit atop a broken-down car.
The overall winners in remaining competitions of Student, Youth, Open and Professional categories of the Sony World Photography Awards 2021 will be announced in April.
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Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
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RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner AF Nashrah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Mutaqadim, Riccardo Iacopini, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Jose Santiago, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
6.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner AF Almomayaz, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Dalil Al Carrere, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Jayide Al Boraq, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
Grand Slam Los Angeles results
Men:
56kg – Jorge Nakamura
62kg – Joao Gabriel de Sousa
69kg – Gianni Grippo
77kg – Caio Soares
85kg – Manuel Ribamar
94kg – Gustavo Batista
110kg – Erberth Santos
Women:
49kg – Mayssa Bastos
55kg – Nathalie Ribeiro
62kg – Gabrielle McComb
70kg – Thamara Silva
90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
The Saga Continues
Wu-Tang Clan
(36 Chambers / Entertainment One)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
FIGHT CARD
Bantamweight Hamza Bougamza (MAR) v Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Catchweight 67kg Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) v Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lighweight Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) v Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg Mostafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) v Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) v Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78kg Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight Sallaheddine Dekhissi (MAR) v Abdel Emam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg Rachid Hazoume (MAR) v Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG)
Lighweight Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg Omar Hussein (PAL) v Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
Middleweight Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
!['Masquerade III' won Mireia Vilaplana, a photographer living in the UAE, the National Awards this year. The artist said of her work: 'This image is part of a series shot during the 2020 lockdown... [it is] a visual exploration of our true selves, it aims to explore photography’s particular ability to describe a historical moment in a conceptual form.' Mireia Vilaplana](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/DKHBS6XXUMNIENTHGM2LK5EF7U.jpg?smart=true&auth=47ebfb29c94d91e29b2b74afaa958e821c0e65ec6b201d1ce8d0f8f8bb938c80&width=800&height=450)
