Canadian photographer Jeff Wall of Vancouver, B.C., was selected as the winner of the 2002 Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography. In conjunction with the award, presented late last year in Göteborg, Sweden, Wall’s photographs were displayed for two months at the Hasselblad Center in the Göteborg Art Gallery.

The panel of judges cited Wall’s use of carefully composed images to explore a range of social and political themes such as urban violence, racism, poverty, history, gender and class conflicts. They compared his work to the great genre painting of the 19th century, and, quoting Charles Baudelaire, called Wall “a painter of modern life.”

The Hasselblad Award is an international photography award recognizing a photographer for major achievements. The prize, awarded for the first time in 1980, has a value of 500,000 kroner ($57,197 USD) and includes a gold medal and a diploma.