Jordi Cohen wins the 1st Kukuxumusu-Playboy Erotic Photography Competition

The photographer Jordi Cohen, from Manresa, has won the 1st Erotic Photography Competition organised by The Drawing Factory Kukuxumusu and Playboy magazine. The competition was the result of the two companies' wish to reward photographic creativity combining eroticism and fiesta during San Fermin. Cohen's picture, which earns him a weekend in Paris, was the entry which received the most votes from the competition's panel of judges, which consisted of two photography experts, two design specialists from Playboy magazine and two more from Sanfermin.com, as well as the creative director and founder of Kukuxumusu Mikel Urmeneta. Urmeneta, the man whose idea it first was to hold the competition, and the Director of Playboy, José María Sanchón, handed over the prize in the Kukuxumusu shop in Barcelona's Born district.

Cohen's photograph was chosen from a final selection of ten pictures, from more than one hundred participants who found erotic and photographic inspiration in the San Fermin fiesta. Most of those taking part were amateur photographers with some experience, although there were also absolute beginners and professionals of some renown, such as Jim Hollander, who has taken pictures for Reuters for no short time. Jordi Cohen is a 41-year-old doctor and lives in Barcelona. His interest in photography stemmed from his love of travelling and the desire to capture the things he had seen. That is, in fact, why he started taking pictures of the San Fermin fiesta: "I've been coming to Pamplona for ten years, but have only taken pictures the last two. This is a photo from this year's Txupinazo and is one of a pair which I entered in the competition. The girl was one of a group of Australians overcome by Cava and Kalimotxo (mixture of wine and cola).

They were all very uninhibited. It was just before the start of the fiesta, when the heat evaporates the sweat and alcohol, and creates amazing textures. I took my pictures in black and white because I was aiming to capture emotions and feelings, contrast often allowing you to focus attention better on what you want. Colour can be distracting." Cohen also pointed out that "What I like the most is that you can find sensuality and eroticism in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, right in the midst of the Txupinazo, when everything goes berserk, gets filthy and Cava is flowing everywhere."

And so, Jordi Cohen has become the first winner of this competition, the idea for which came when the organisers realised how many quality pictures with hints of eroticism had been taken during the San Fermin fiesta over recent years. The wide range of possibilities afforded by a subject so much a part of the San Fermin fiesta as eroticism encouraged Kukuxumusu and Playboy to hold this competition, which is intended to become an annual event and ultimately aims to reward sensitivity, imagination and creativity.

Jordi Cohen Colldeforns is a doctor whose work has taken him to many different parts of the world, such as Latin America and Africa. While abroad, he makes photo reportages to reflect and portray the people and cultures he comes across on his way. His pictures have featured in exhibitions and have been published in books and other graphic media in Argentina, Spain and France. Cohen has won several other photography prizes in addition to the 1st Kukuxumusu-Playboy San Fermin Erotic Photography Competition: Premio "Cultura y Espectáculos" Iberoamérica (2007), Olympus de Fotografía de Viajes (2007), Iconos de Buenos Aires (2006), Fotomercè (2006), Concours PHOTO Categorie Le Reportage (2005), Panasonic Photographer of the Year (2005) and Sigma (2004).