Saatchi Gallery announces the shortlist and winner of the #SaatchiSelfie competition

Dawn Wooley from Cambridge has been announced as the winner of the #saatchiselfie competition for her image: The Substitute (holiday). The winning image was selected from more than 14,000 entries to the competition and was judged by Tracey Emin, Idris Khan, Juergen Teller, Juno Caylpso and Saatchi Gallery CEO Nigel Hurst. The competition was run to mark the opening of the exhibition From Selfie to Self Expression which aims to “celebrate the truly creative potential of a form of expression often derided for its inanity.”

“Primarily my artwork is self-portraiture, but not in the traditional sense. In the work I create a photographic copy of myself and place it in the real world instead of me,” says the winner Dawn. "By creating artwork that establishes me as an object it could be argued that I produce photographs that reinforce stereotypical images of the female body, but with apparent exhibitionism I create a substitute that renders my real body invisible.  The substitute series was taken in a variety of location including Cardiff, London, Malta and Paris. It is an ongoing project that began in 2008.”

The ten shortlisted artists, who will be exhibited alongside the winner, are Sarah Carpenter (UK), Finnian Croy (UK), Debora De Haes (Belgium), Ollie Hayward (UK), Felicia Hodoroaba-Simon (Romania), Andy Kassier (Germany), Van O (Russian Federation), Patrick Gonzales (France), and Ola Walkow (Canada). All 14,000 entries will be displayed on digital wall in the exhibition.

“The range, diversity and creative flair of 14,000 entries exceeded all our hopes and expectations, so it was difficult to choose ten to shortlist, let alone one overall winner,” says Nigel Hurst. “We hope that the competition has encouraged anyone with a smartphone to realise its potential as an artistic tool, and inspire them to document their daily lives with even more creative vigour.”