Martell, the world’s oldest cognac house, announced local photographer, Sherman Ong, as the winner of the inaugural ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu at an award ceremony, held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts at LASALLE College of the Arts.

Graced by guest-of-honour, Mr Lui Teck Yew, Acting Minister for Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, the ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu award ceremony, which also marks the opening of the Month of Photography Asia 2010, saw Martell playing host to more than 200 guests that included the crème de la crème of Singapore’s local arts scene.

“More than just awarding the winner, the ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu also aims to pay a tribute to Singapore’s photographers. It is our way of providing an inspirational platform to local photographers to pursue their creative endeavours and harness their artistic visions,” said Paul-Robert Bouhier, Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Singapore.

As the winner of ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu, Sherman Ong received prize money of $30,000 (the highest prize money in Singapore for awards of the same nature) as well as an opportunity to produce an art book of his works.

“Winning the ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu feels as if I am in a dream; one that involves stories and songs, complete with myths and firewater. It is a dream that I do not want to wake up from,” said Mr Sherman Ong, winner of ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu.

“Personally, I think it is great that Martell as a corporate organization has taken the bold step to support photography...In this part of the world, support for the arts, especially photography, from corporate organisations are still fairly lacking and it is really important for artists to have such support and recognition in order to raise the profile and awareness of the art form in this region.”

In addition to announcing the winner, Martell also recognised the achievements of two other finalists – Francis Ng and Jing Quek - during the ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu award ceremony.

Both of them received prize money of $8,000 for their participation.

Together with Sherman’s works, Francis and Jing have their works displayed at various galleries within the Institute of Contemporary Arts as part of the month-long ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu Photography Exhibition.

To view the works of Sherman Ong, Francis Ng and Jing Quek, please visit the ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu Photography Exhibition till July 17 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts at LASALLE College of the Arts.

Click here to view the photos of the award evening.

Photos: Plush, Alvin Teo, Martell ICON de Cordon Bleu