Exhibition Review: Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2011

National Portrait Gallery, London

10 November 2011 - 12 February 2012

Image Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/nov/09/taylor-wessing-portrait-prize-woodward#zoomed-picture

Though this exhibition has ended I am still inspired by the 60 shortlisted entries that were exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery that I visited 31^st Jan. My memory may not be as vivid however there are a few images that still stick in my head yet this does not involve the winning photograph by Jooney Woodward, ‘Harriet and Gentleman Jack’ (2010) (above). After reading various reviews and comments about the £12,000 winning photograph I agree that it’s rather underwhelming especially considering the controversy in the previous year of Panayiotis Lamprou's explicit photograph, Portrait of My British Wife and has the same characteristics to David Chancellor‘s ‘Huntress With Buck’ that also features a solemn looking teenage girl with ginger hair with an animal. One can’t help but compare the two and come to the conclusion that this is the winning formula for a portrait prize. Reading Martin Jordan’s review of this exhibition I too believe that ‘Portraiture can depict a range of emotions, give insight, and really connect with the viewer. The best portraiture is subtle, never obvious. This is an odd concept that a serious portrait has to be melancholy.’ [1] Wandering through the exhibition I rarely saw a smile either but serious looking expressions; apparently a photograph is taken more seriously if the photograph itself is serious.

Image source: http://artandphotography-uog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/taylor-wessing-photographic-portrait.html

Despite my discontentment with the same style of expression I am still compelled by entries such as ‘Malega Surma Boy Ethiopa’ by Mario Marino (above) which was used as the cover for the exhibition catalogue (they must have thought this was an eye-catching photograph as well!), ‘Erica E. Born In 1910.’ By Karsten Thormahlen, ‘Kiera Knightly’ by Michael Birt, ‘Old Truman Brewery/Claudia’ by Darren Hall, ‘Dolly Parton’ by Zed Nelson and ‘Leo Gormley, The Ugly Face of Prejudice’ by Mark Johnson and ‘Bibi Aisha’ by Jodi Bieber. With these photographs I was drawn to their stories and I found the characters interesting; despite two sitters that I mentioned being famous, the photographers captured them in a way that wasn’t necessarily cashing on their fame but showing them as another human being too, as being ‘real’.  Mario Marino’s Malega Surma Boy Ethiopa was a particular favourite of mine, a concoction of deep earthy brown, like rich dark chocolate with a break up of ivory and rust making this image exquisite in colour and technicality as well as capturing a beautiful portrait. Out of the 6000 entries I believe this should have been in the top 3 winning photographs.

Despite visitor numbers dropping considerably from 2009 [2] this exhibition did prove more popular than its previous year regardless of comments calling this exhibition ‘dull’ and ‘uninspiring’; I believe this is referred to the prize winners rather than the other exceptional shortlisted portraits. Attending this exhibition with my fellow photography course mates I was able to engage with many thought-provoking portraits proving that we still have something to talk about. Applications are open for 2012 entry with a closing date 9 July 2012. The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize is one of the biggest photography events across the globe and I hope for more diversity in this year’s entries. Let’s hope it’s not another teenage girl with an animal as the winning photograph.

References

1. Jordan, Martin; Ephotozine; http://www.ephotozine.com/article/taylor-wessing-portrait-prize-2011-exhibition-17855 [Accessed 13/05/12]

2. National Portrait Gallery past Exhibitions; http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/past.php [Accessed 13/05/12]

O’Hagan, Sean; The Guardian; http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/nov/09/taylor-wessing-portrait-prize-woodward# [Accessed 13/05/12]

Tyrrell, Katherine; Making a Mark blog; http://makingamark.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/review-taylor-wessing-photographic.html [Accessed 13/05/12]

Useful Links:

National Portrait Gallery - Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize http://www.npg.org.uk/photoprize1/site12/index.php