This is the second time I have seen this National Portrait Gallery exhibition, and it was as fascinating as the first. Described as ‘presenting the very best in contemporary portrait photography,’ it featured work picked from over 2,400 photographers from around the globe, ranging from ‘gifted amateurs’ and those studying photography to professionals.
“Through editorial, advertising and fine art images, the entrants have explored a range of themes, styles and approaches to the contemporary photographic portrait, from formal commissioned portraits to more spontaneous and intimate moments capturing friends and family. “
When done well, and in the case of the chosen 60 works exhibited, very well, there is something ever captivating about portraiture. Similar to the notion of the celebrity, portraits that steal a revealing glimpse into another’s world have that irresistible feeling of placing us as the voyeur. They interest us not only through the story they tell but through the revelation of identity, the way we cannot but help compare ourselves with the lives presented to us.
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