A portrait is not only how a sitter looks but how they wish to be seen. Its success or failure is measured not only by the author and sitter but likewise the interpretation of someone who views it, a stranger often, and rarely a witness to the event.
A portrait is a collaboration, most likely a hope, a viewpoint with some context. Perhaps it may be a battle of minds other times a gentle quietness shared.
Time to time, history may deem the moment as being of great value, equally the value can be beyond measure, in the case of personal association …a simple snapshot of a loved one.
Does a portrait capture or reflect a soul? – a question often asked. The easy answer being whose? - the subject’s, the author’s, or perhaps even the viewers’.
The human being is far too considered and complex a subject for a single exposure to sum up. In the same manner a single sentence taken from a book rarely tells the entire story. Whilst both the portrait and sentence from a book may only offer an insight and suggestion of the greater picture, it is possible that a single sentence or a brief exposure equally may be the most powerful statement within a hundred pages …or indeed a life lived.
My hopes for this series of images are to try and create a quiet moment, a connection between myself, those who have kindly given me their time and anyone who ultimately views them.
This portfolio likewise equally respects the (often) quiet space and it’s value found around each sitter, a space to breath.
