The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2009

Taylor Wessing, for all those that don’t know, is a law firm so their sponsorship of a photographic portrait prize at The National Portrait Gallery seems a rather odd partnership. Scanning the exhibition catalogue for an explanation as to how these two became such comfortable bed fellows, I find that apparantly both institutions strive for the same goal- excellence- and it is this that 'brings them together'. Whether or not this is grounds for justified partnership, i'm not convinced, yet despite this slightly unconvincing pairing, the exhibition does not disappoint.

The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize encourages and cultivates new talent, whilst emphasising the importance of hard work and a forward thinking, creative attitude. In fact most of the photos in this exhibition are so striking and compelling that ‘excellence’ is once again ill fitting- an undersatement even.

My particular favourite is Oli Kellett’s photo of ‘Emma’ laying back into a cushioned pink sofa, staring out of an unseen window. Uncomplicated and peaceful this image really struck a chord with me as I could quite easily picture myself sitting in that same chair, looking out of that same window simply watching the world pass by. ‘Hannah’ by Gino Spiro is a more sombre portrait but equally as captivating. This nervous looking girl, framed by a dark black background, stares directly at us, the self harm marks on her arms in full view. They lean stiffly against her naked body acting as her barrier from the viewer who feels uncomfortable in the intimacy this photograph demands.

‘Group Of Friends At Barceloneta Beach’ by Lluis Artus is more light hearted, rousing a few sniggers as visitors, particularly women, scampered past it. Artus presents a group of tanned, over weight Spanish men in tiny speedos who stand grouped together staring gallantly into the camera; their bodies shimmering with tanning oil in a pose attempting intimidation but rather revealing a close friendship between them.

Another provocative portrait was that by Carol Allen-Storey ‘Forgotten Woman Of Genocide’. Here a distressed lady pulls up her shirt to reveal a severe laceration scar running along the bottom of her rib cage. Tears stream from her eyes as she looks down upon it and the giant crack running down the wall that she sits against echoes her disfigurement. ‘Huong 19 In Hanoi’ from the series ‘A War’s legacy- birth defects in Vietnam’ is truly shocking. The portrait displays a man born with no eyes, not even the sockets; just one of the many horrific consequences of nuclear bombs.

This exhibition is very moving and I would strongly recommend it. My advice however is try not to go on a Saturday, as it gets extremely busy and it’s difficult to stop and really take time to look at the works.

The National Portrait Gallery, Free admission, until February 14 2010.

At By Offenders: From the 2009 Koestler Awards

The Koestler Award is evidence that art can change lives. Attracting over 5,000 entries a year from inmates of prisons, young offenders institutions, secure psychiatric hospitals and immigration removal centres, it’s aim is to help and motivate detainees to participate and hopefully achieve success in the arts. The awards also increase public awareness and understanding of the ideas and experiences of prisoners and patients throughout the UK.

This exhibition gives a touching insight into the lives locked away from public view. Most works, that range from carved wooden boxes, to sculptures, to oils on canvas, were labelled with ‘Anon’. The only evidence of the artist’s identity was often a small set of initials hazardously and somewhat coyly painted in the bottom corner. I was instantly surprised at how brilliant most of these pieces were- they could easily have been mistaken for the work of accomplished, trained artists and I questioned where all this incredible creativity and imagination arose from bearing in mind their oppressive and mundane surroundings.

One particularly touching work was ‘Bug Life’. Over the space of 2 ½ years stuck within the same prison cell, an inmate had named and collected every single bug that had lived and died around him. He then stuck their bodies on to a canvas, along with their name, date and reason of death. The feeling of this man’s loneliness was heart breaking here. The fact that he valued the presence of an insect as company reflects the desperation of so many prisoners and patients perhaps unable to connect with others on a human level or so isolated that they have little choice but to seek companionship through other things.

Another great work was a prison pillow that had written upon it a letter from a father to his son, whom he had never met. The image of this man’s sleepless nights were at the forefront of my mind and his anguish was evident right through from the obvious speed of his messy writing that claimed ‘Daddy’s gunna come back soon’ to the pillow’s evidential creases of his insomnia.

‘After A Visit’ was a simple painting that was extremely thought provoking. An anonymous inmate had painted a man sitting in a chair, holding his face in his hands. On top of his face appeared to be another, as if he were putting on a mask. His huddled over body language and un-smoked cigarette in his hand showed that this man was experiencing deep emotional pain. On the panel beside the painting, the artist stated that his work represented the difficulties prisoner’s face when trying to speak to families during visiting time. He explained that most inmates put on a ‘new face’ when they see their loved ones, attempting to protect them from knowing the truth about prison life.

‘Freedom’ was a fantastic painting depicting a man standing on an empty beach, looking out into the ocean and raising his arms up in a gesture of accomplishment. My own freedom and ability to have independence did dawn upon me at this moment and although the painting was ultimately sad, it was hopeful too.The exhibition also included a poetry book with prisoner’s poems written in it. I sat and read every one, and each seemed to repeat the same themes of longing, endless running away and craving for love and affection.

At the end of the exhibition you are encouraged to vote for which painting you thought deserves to win the Koestler Award. The chosen artist will receive support toward his art for a year after he is released in the hope that his creativity will continue.

The works in this exhibition are extremely poignant, and upsetting though some may be, it is also uplifting to see that art can indeed offer the mind a little peace and reflection that so many of these troubled artists need.

The Royal Festival Hall, Free admission, Until December 2nd.

SHOWstudio Fashion Revolution At Somerset House

The illustrious world of high-fashion has always been untouchable; exclusively produced, pampered and previewed by only the hands and eyes of the elite. To most others, high-fashion is a somewhat alien even carnivalesque art form, more often than not seen statically from the pages of a magazine. It is rare therefore that the energy, unpredictability and ruggedness of fashion is witnessed by others except photographers, designers and stylists. Infamous fashion photographer Nick Knight however is gradually changing things.

Knight has curated and designed ‘SHOWstudio Fashion Revolution’ currently on show at Somerset House. His cleverly thought out exhibition catapults you right into the face of fashion; leaving you so close that as you walk out the exit you feel as though you could recall in detail every one of it’s sounds, smells and intricacies.
Inspired by his website (Showstudio.com) that literally translates as ‘show the studio’ Knight believes that the internet is changing the way fashion is perceived. “The internet allows for a whole new relationship, a two-way communication” he says, “where the audience participates in art, interacts with art and shapes its path”. Thus, I get to work in doing just this throughout Knight’s extremely interactive exhibition, whereby we decide how the final product will look.

In the first room I found myself looking up to three giant white sculptures of Naomi Campbell. In front of her, was a small computer screen that bore the outline of the sculptures, and an electronic pen with pallet of colours encouraging you to ‘decorate’ her however you would like. These computer based scribbles were then instantly projected onto her white torso, and like a child with a set of new crayons, I found myself colouring in Campbell for at least 30 minutes. To create the sculptures, Knight used 3D scanning technology from a photograph; the deliberate procedure of which intentionally inverts the process of fashion shoots where the photograph is the end result of creativity as opposed to its product.

Another really innovative installation was Banquet (2004), based around a commission from W Magazine to photograph luxury eveningwear. The shoot was based around a twenty-three course banquet cooked by Heston Blumenthal, attended by a host of famous models. A webcam was set up looking down upon the plates of each of the attendees, and Knight projected every one of these separate films onto a table covered by a white cloth. The meal was also recorded, and therefore audio was also played. As a result, Knight had re-created this meal, yet all you could see were the images of hands tucking in to half finished main courses surrounded by the murmurs of conversations. Standing watching this felt invasive yet alluring and I wanted to stay to watch each and every plate scraped clean in an attempt to guess who the anonymous eaters may be.

Knight brings you closer still to these untouchable fashionistas through Phonecarte (2004-2008) whereby Lilly Cole, Karen Elson, Irina Lazareanu and Lily Donaldson were instructed by Knight to leave chatty voicemail messages from their various fashion shows, describing what they were doing, how they felt and generally divulging personal information. As I picked up each receiver, I thought about how rare it was to hear the sound of a model’s voice, in fact I was quite taken aback that to the eye these women are so extraordinary, yet to the ear so very ordinary.

The last installation I thought really reflected Knight’s theme well, was Dress Me Up, Dress Me Down (2005). Here the role of stylist is handed over to us and from a touch screen, you are able to select various different outfits from a virtual wardrobe of items, eventually creating one complete ‘model’ out of a differently styled head, body and legs.

Whether you are into fashion or not, I really recommend this exhibition, and at £5 I thought it was money well spent. What a great idea to allow us a gritty insight into the heart of fashion, divulging and revelling in it’s unpredictability, creativity and restlessness. Other highlights included a clothes soudscape, Brad Pitt performance piece, and a film that recorded models sleeping.