National Portrait Gallery- Portrait Research

TAYLOR WESSING PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT PRIZE 2019

'This exhibition brings together a wide selection of works that emplify leading approaches to the genre of photographic portraiture.' National Portrait Gallery

I feel like my intentions for this project have changed drastically from my initial research on Pawel Bajew. His portraits however, helped make me realise that i definitely want to have an image that carries some kind of narrative. It was only when i took a trip to 'The National Portrait Gallery' and saw portraits for what they were, no specific set, no pre-planned props that i knew that's what i wanted to pursue- each with their own kind of story behind them. Here are some examples of images that are inspiring me:

First Prize Winner

PAT MARTIN

'Pat Martin's sensitive photographs of his late mother win leading portrait prize.' 

creativeboom.com

                                                                        

After visiting the National Portrait Gallery and through doing some further reading on Pat Martin, you realise that his photographs were used as a platform of re-connection. The act of taking them allowed him to understand his mother, who struggled with addiction, whilst she was able to re-connect with him.

'I chose to focus where i was fearful to look.' - Pat Martin.

This quote resonates with me because i feel that stepping out of your comfort zone can be one of the hardest things to do but it can end you up with some of the best, most unexpected results. Martin is facing his fear head on by really uncovering his mothers issues and the result of that is a re-connection between the both of them. What seemed fearful has actually become the most intimate and meaningful experience.

This makes his images so much more personal and connects strongly to the human experience. It also shows the power of the photographic portrait. There's no sugar coating Martin's photographs. They are honest which is refreshing to see. I especially like his images because of this. He isn't trying to hide anything. Walking into the exhibition, i didn't expect to see a series of photo's like Martin's. His mother was so prominent in this room full of art. This is because she was beautiful. At first glance you wouldn't think that, and honestly , i certainly didn't because we're so quick to pre-judge. Her look, classically, is not attractive. She is over-weight with messy hair and a down-turned mouth. But then you really start to look at her- her complexion, a face full of golden freckles. Her eyes- small but the deepest blue. Also, when you learn the context behind a photo, your take on it completely changes. Sometimes you don't need to know the context of an image but, i think for Martin's series, it's important. The thing with this series of photographs is that it's very much inviting us into Martin's private life. We are following him on this journey of re-connection and,  even though his mother's situation and their relationship could be similar to others, it's still his own experience of it.

If i was to do something in the style of Pat Martin for this project, i'd need to find a motivation- something that needs re-connection. So i'd very much need to open up and allow this project to become intimate as it would be based around my relationships with people. His photo's however, despite being sensitive and intimate are also rather humorous. I guess he wants to capture both sides to his mother that he feels are quite prominent. 

 

This composition of this photo for example, is quite humorous as he's obviously chosen the shirt to match the quirky little dog.

Thinking about how Martin captures his mother in her natural state, there are some photographs who have tried to prompt a facial reaction- not meaning it's any less natural or real, it's just an immediate reaction. Martin's mother has obviously just been told to sit normally and comfortably but what happens when something is said that causes an unmissable reaction in someone's face. For example, as i haven't explained that very well, there was a social experiment where a photographer captured the moment she called a stranger beautiful. They are still reacting naturally but they are reacting to something. As opposed to Martin's mother just sitting for a portrait. I just think it's interesting to see the change in someone's expression when the person behind the camera initiates some kind of comment.

Obviously Martin wanted to capture that specific moment but this artist wanted two different forms of the natural state. This artists name is Shea Glover- 18 year old from Chicago.

SHEA GLOVER

How would you react if someone told you that you're beautiful? 

Shea Glover conducted a social experiment to find out. She did it in a clever way however. She didn't say "you're beautiful" directly. Instead, she posed people in front of the camera and told them "I'm taking pictures of things i find beautiful". She said "my intentions were not to get a reaction out of people. I was simply filming beauty and this is the result." I really like that the statement and it links quite nicely with Martin's portraits of his mother. He was capturing her in her natural state which, in her won way, is beautiful. I like this idea of social experimentation captured through a series of portraits. It's a different way of learning about a person through photography. It's almost more intimate because you're capturing exactly how they're feeling in that moment. Her series of photographs show a 'before' and 'after' sequence of the build up to mentioning the word beautiful.

Second Prize Winner- National Portrait Gallery 

ENDA BOWE

'Neil'

This is the photograph that won him second prize. It's beautifully composed and so simple. I like the presence of the young man as opposed to what's in the background. It's as if he's left all of that noise behind for a split second and that has been captured in this portrait. Bowe is a young Irish photographer who lives in Ireland. ''Neil'', from his series "Love's Fire Song" was photographed at the Conway Estate in Belfast. 

"I concentrated on the ordinary, the everyday. The photographs use a saturated colour palette with only subtle symbolisms, and without reference to the specific locations they were taken. Free from political and geographical context, the photographs speak of longing, yearning, aspirations and vulnerabilities of young people in Belfast today." Enda Bowe

Third Prize Winner

GARROD KIRKWOOD

'The Hubbucks' from the series 'England' by Garrod Kirkwood

Garrod Kirkwood's photograph of a British family heading to the coast was probably my favourite portrait in the exhibition. 

A few reasons why:

• Vibrant colours
• Composition of the photo
• The classic representation of British Summer (nostalgic)
• Its simplicity

It's the perfect mix of a classic car, clear blue skies, a light green car frame, pink and blue inflatables, golden haired children and a dad flicking through the sun newspaper. The story created in this image is timeless- It's a family simply having a good time. I really like the way that Kirkwood hasn't photographed the entire car. The shape of the top half carries the photo and frames it perfectly. It's a fluid shape that almost evokes further, a sense of the sea. The car is shaped like a wave and it really compliments the rest of the image. I think the star of the photo is the little red haired girl leaning out of the window.  She has the most fantastic hair and the light captures it perfectly. I also like how the photo isn't over-crowded. Kirkwood has enough faith in the car being enough for the audience, which it is. Because i liked this one portrait so much, i decided to dig a little deeper. I found his website and wasn't disappointed (garrodkirkwood.com). He has an entire archive of different portraits he's done. The photograph that won him third prize was under the section titled 'England'. Others include 'Made in Japan', 'East Midland Trains', 'Benidorm', 'Winter', 'From Above', 'Ronnie'. There was so much material to explore and work with and each of his photos generally intrigued me. He refers to himself as a photographer AND a visual storyteller. His journey began when he bought his first 35mm camera and started to process his own film. He's gifted with a subtle colour palette and is able to portray people and landscapes in perfect harmony. He works predominantly on location. What i like about Kirkwood is that he has an eye for capturing personality in his subjects and their surroundings. Something i'd love to try and see if i could do. Although subtle, his colour palette is still very distinctive. It's very clean and usually carries blue undertones. It's clear he experiments with exposure which again, i'd love to do more of. He has a wide variation of portraits because, even though they are supposedly   catching people in their natural states, you can tell that some are more staged than others just because Kirkwood has seen an opportunity he wouldn't want to miss. But there's also a lot of images you look at and think to yourself, he probably really didn't think that would be the outcome. I think that unknown is quite exciting.

Photo's of his that have definitely been staged, because of the use of set and props, are those from his 'Rust-Oleum' collection. I love this collection because they're so surreal and odd that it's quite satirical. I think the photographs from this collection have helped me decide however that i want to focus on location shooting, not studio. I want to use available light and see how i can naturally try and manipulate an image. I'm less keen on the almost clinical feeling the images below give. I'm interested in telling a story but i think for this project, i want to explore real stories- take this project to the streets and capture real events. Like Pat Martin and his mother, i want to find proper connections out in the world. I'm going to spend some time looking at street photographers and go from there.