Sony World Photography Awards Student Focus competition finalists are announced

Central St Martins student Scarlett Evans is among the final ten students

'#ThenewNewTestament' by Scarlet Evans

The ten finalists for the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards Student Focus category have been announced today, ahead of the gala ceremony in April where the winner will receive a £35,000 prize.

Central St Martins graphic design student Scarlett Evans, 22, is among the final ten from across the world for her photograph #ThenewNewTestament, showing a psalm on a church billboard, followed by "join us on Facebook".

“I took the winning image outside a church in Nashville, Tennessee, whilst travelling the South last spring", Ms Evans told Artlyst. "It seemed like such an incongruous juxtaposition of old and new faiths. The irony of it just made me laugh.”

All ten photographers have now been set a second brief under the title "self-portraits", to be shot to be using a full frame camera from Sony – the α7 – given to each finalist as part of their prize.

The resulting images of all finalists will be shown as part of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House, London from 1-18 May and published in the 2014 edition of the annual Sony World Photography Awards book.

All ten finalists, and their tutors, will be flown to London to attend the ceremony and to discover the recipient of the 2014 Student Focus Photographer of the Year title.