Selected from a shortlist of five, Brenna Murphy’s prototype project ’Domain, Wrap, Exclude’, is a worthy winner of the first edition of the prize. The judges were impressed by the ambition of her project, pushing into areas as yet little explored in contemporary art practice. Murphy’s prototype revealed a strong process of development and an ability to innovate across physical and virtual realms in both sculptural and photographic form. Her ‘wrapping’ of the photographic image around structural elements reveals a distinctive ambient aesthetic for computer generated environments, creating new modes of photographic vision. Utilising the latest VR technologies, Murphy brings a poetic element to her psychedelic computational structures, forging a distinctive artistic voice.

Duncan Forbes, the Director of the Fotomuseum, said: “We are very pleased to award the P3 prize this year to Brenna Murphy. Her exploration of the combination of virtual and physical environments is highly innovative, pushing at the boundaries of photography within computer generated worlds. Brenna’s computational poetics in photography points to the complexity and potential of an emerging post-photographic vision.”

Julius Baer’s Chief Communications Officer Jan A. Bielinski added: “The P3 Prize was developed in close collaboration between Fotomuseum Winterthur and the Julius Baer Foundation. The inaugural prize highlights the growing importance of post-photography in the arts. We are pleased that the prize has been received with great interest among many young artists from all over the world and we congratulate the first prize winner Brenna Murphy from the US.”

Brenna Murphy will receive CHF 10,000 to further develop her original prototype.


Fotomuseum Winterthur
Founded in Winterthur, Switzerland in 1993, Fotomuseum is a leading venue for the display and discussion of photography. Through exhibitions, publications, events, and the building of a collection (dating from 1960 to the present day) the museum explores the diversity of photographic media. The programme presents the history of photography with the ambition of visualising that history differently. The museum also seeks to understand the rapidly expanding nature of photographic technology and aesthetics today, especially through its commitment to research and its engagement with young artists.

The Julius Baer Foundation
The Julius Baer Foundation was established in 1965 and represents the philanthropic engagement of the Julius Baer Group. Its goal is to provide support for charitable causes as well as for arts and sciences in Switzerland and abroad. Over the last years, the foundation’s engagement focused on helping children and young adults, besides supporting other social projects.