The Photo Levallois Award 2014 has been awarded  to Esther Teichmann for her series Fractal Scars, Salt Water and Tears, a body of work that invites the viewer into an intangible world of languid nudes and mythical landscapes. Teichmann's fascination lies with the medium's ability to bring together the physical and the ethereal, to create a proximity and a distance all at once. The aesthetic appeal of her work can be attributed to her sumptuous palette and the juxtaposition of fluid landscape and statuesque figures; rendered using moving image, collage and painting.

Since its founding in 2008, Photo Lavallois has gained global recognition as a pioneer of new trends in international contemporary photography. Included, are the works of acclaimed and emerging artists and amateur photographers, all under the age of 35. The festival acts as a platform for encouraging dialogue exchanges with other media and also brings to light the current rhetoric between artists of today. The panel of judges base their selection on the artist's consistency of approach, a conviction in the work put forward and its ability to communicate to an audience; a challenging task in the complex photography scene. The works selected by the judges must encapsulate influence and innovation within the medium, as they are crucial in expressing the development of contemporary photography to the public.

Teichmann was selected from 168 artists from 31 countries to receive a  €10,000 grant along with the production of an exhibition at L'Escale Gallery from October 10th to November 15th 2014.