'Black-out'
France
Photographer MATHIS BENESTEBE
2023 Shortlist
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/qlqy0kgo/production/2ae8f130163216a9e7b9c67b0d7f5bd4df6c20f7-1657x1243.jpg?w=2048&q=90&auto=format)
Mathis Benestebe is a French photographer based in Toulouse. His work revolves around autobiography, disinvestment and void. He wishes to testify the importance of memory in the construction of identity.
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/qlqy0kgo/production/2738d1176b01f04cc02f24ea74bb9208fbf1487e-1658x1243.jpg?w=2048&q=90&auto=format)
'Black-out' is a multidisciplinary project on traumatic amnesia. Loss of memory generated by intense stress causes emotional information to dissociate from the memory circuit, leading to a freezing of memories. Exploring this under UV light, Mathis attempts to reach inaccessible events from childhood.
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/qlqy0kgo/production/66bf49bfc9534712817fafa9309a31c7ce737ed4-1657x1243.jpg?w=2048&q=90&auto=format)
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/qlqy0kgo/production/3c377a47a8d70c5325effb6995cf2f012627007b-1658x1243.jpg?w=2048&q=90&auto=format)
'Black-out'
France
Photographer MATHIS BENESTEBE
2023 Shortlist
'Intimate Desires'
United Kingdom
Photographer OTTILIE LANDMARK
2023 Shortlist