We were a tad giddy whilst waiting to be let into the National Portrait Gallery yesterday to get our eyes on the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize’s winning and runner up portraits, but that could have been the coffee we were drinking to keep us warm. Besides being a mouthful to say, this prestigious award sponsored for the fifth year by Taylor Wessing (a big international law firm) is helping to lead the way in contemporary portrait photography and makes a must-see exhibition throughout London’s Photomonth.
 |
| Jordi Ruiz Cirera’s winning portrait ‘Margarita’ © Jordi Ruiz Cirera |
28-year-old London-based Spanish photographer and graduate of the London College of Communication, Jordi Ruis Cirera, won the coveted award and the hefty sum of £12,000 for his photograph of a 26-year-old camera shy woman from Bolivia. Mennonos tribe member Margarita Teinhroeb was photographed sat at her kitchen table, shading part of her face, seemingly reluctant to be photographed. The photo is part of a series in which Jordi wanted to document how it is to live in a community so religious that religion seeps into every part of their life – something as simple as having a photo taken is forbidden: ‘I wanted Margarita to look at the camera, but that was a problem for her and I guess that’s why she is partially covering her face’ Ruiz Cirera explains. Despite this, the result is a beautifully shot portrait in natural light on his 35 Canon 5D, which is magnificent in its slight awkwardness.
 |
| Lynne, Brighton by Jennifer Pattison © Jennifer Pattison (2nd Prize) |
The exhibition does not stop there, however, it boasts a cherry-picked selection of 60 portraits chosen by the judges from an incredible 5,340 submissions. Not an easy job. As we ventured into the exhibition, a surprise awaited us – a portrait of the prolific Chinese artist Ai Weiwei entitled ‘The Nine Lives of Ai Wewei’ by Matthew Nieberhauser, who was awarded the John Kobal New York Award. Ai Weiwei is captured holding a cat while he was under house arrest. It is a hauntingly beautiful shot, revealing the softer, more vulnerable side of the artist. Spencer Murphy’s portrait of actor Mark Rylance similarly also shows the actor’s softer side as well as his rather regal, yet rugged appearance – he was commissioned to shoot the cover of the Telegraph Magazine to mark the actor’s return to Shakespeare’s Globe to play Richard III. Murphy isn’t new to photography awards – he was shortlisted for the Sony World Photography Awards in both 2010 and 2011 and been exhibited internationally. Another portrait worth a mention is Alma Haser’s ‘The Ventriloquist’ a portrait of two of her friends who have known each other since they were twelve. Inspired by their similar haircuts she had them sit on a ‘tiny, wobbly coffee table, forcing them to almost cling to each other’. The result is a portrait of little and large, as though the smaller of the two is a puppet purched on the other’s lap, hence the title.
The exhibition starts today and is on until 17 February 2013. For more information [click here]
This article was commissioned by Art Wednesday.
 |
The Nine Lives of Ai Weiwei by Matthew Niederhauser © Matthew Niederhauser
(The John Kobal New Work Award)
|
 |
| Mark Rylance by Spencer Murphy © Spencer Murphy (3rd Prize) |
 |
| The Ventriloquist by Alma Haser © Alma Haser (4th Prize) |
No comments:
Post a Comment