With the graphic shapes, vivid slashes of colour and bright light of her compositions rooted in the formative memories of a childhood spent under the African sun, Viviane Sassen has proved herself one of the most significant photographers working today. Now she joins the likes of Richard Billingham, Andreas Gursky and Juergen Teller in being nominated for the Deutsche Börse photography prize, thanks to her exhibition Umbra at the Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam.

Perhaps because she started her studies in design before switching to photography, Sassen's work moves fluidly between the worlds of art and fashion, but it's never a question of style over substance – rather Sassen's work leaves the viewer to confront their own ideas about these two spheres. Although she admits to always having had "a love hate relationship with fashion," she’s captured editorials over the course of her career, including several striking shoots for Dazed. Ahead of the Award tonight at the Photographer’s Gallery in London, look through Sassen’s most iconic Dazed shots in the album above.