EXHIBITION | Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery

http://www.npg.org.uk/photoprize1/site13/index.php

Citizens of Porto Novo, Leonce Agbodjelou

In his review of the show Blogger Lewis Bush laments that he 'didn’t see a single photograph which challenged my idea of what a portrait should or could be’. In the month that selfie is crowned word of the year I have some sympathy for his view. One might be forgiven for thinking that the austere guardians of the NPG show, and the photographic establishment, are defending their position here. Grayson Perry recently, with tongue in cheek, announced ‘you have to be an artist to make art’. Is the NPG’s definition similar ? Do you have to be a photographer to make photographs ? While there is no expectation here for the curators to trawl Facebook in the hope of finding a seminal portrait, it seems odd that in the time of mass democratisation of photography that only the professional elite can make worthy imagery.

This critique should not, however, should not be seem as a criticism of the work on show - it is certainly well worth the trip to see how the professional’s do it. The show has a uniformity - a style if you like that gives it a whole (this is not a series of snaps, but a collection that’s almost themed). They are mostly colour; mostly full focus; mostly full body (not cropped); and mostly posed. The portraits are conservative in a good way - this is no freak show and its not sensationalist and at times we can soberly connect with that special moment between sitter and photographer.  I enjoyed the show so much I bought the book (which, incidentally, while excellent, sadly lacks the contextualising foot notes for the majority of the shots - a significant flaw).

Some highlights for me include …

Paul Dewitte’s ‘Elise’ is a stunning head shot. The sitter is just off 3/4 and gazes into the middle distance. Her features and the curious flat perspective are reminiscent of dutch painted portraiture (in that engaging ‘eyes on the side of her head’ naive kind of way). Whether intentional or not this picture plays to the history of art, and it is impressive for that.

Julian Edelstein show us 'Horst Von Watcher’ the son of a world war two war criminal. He is seated in the centre frame - behind him is the faded glory of an ancient bourgeois house. The composition is hugely impressive, with the vertical thirds making prominent the hero that might otherwise be lost in the gloom.

Proyecto Mirame Lima present 'Hombres de Mar'. This is a group shot of fishing folk on a beach. They are smiling - as if to acknowledge that this is a celebration of their selves and not dowdy reportage. They pose with their possessions - a dolly, a keyboard, a painting of Christ - in a casual way that acknowledges a tradition in renaissance and baroque art but in a playful not mannered way. Intriguingly fish hang in the top left of the frame. At first glance they look like a photoshop montage - but on closer inspection the fishing twine rig reveals they were there for real. This explicit incursion of the photographer in the scene is honest and enthralling.

Choir Master by Rosie Hallam

Rosie Hallam’s ‘Choir Master’ was commissioned by the FT. It features a teacher in front of a blackboard in a Ghanaian classroom. The guys exuberant expression and smart attire contrasts with the meagre environment (the concrete wall is stained, the blackboard needs a lick of paint). With a trip to a West African school imminent I found this picture a great inspiration - as an honest, but positive portrayal of the real Africa; the majority one that is not about starvation and kids with guns.

Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou’s portail, 'Citizens of Porto Novo’ is similar in form to Ebrahim Noroozi’s pictures of veiled women in Iran in the 2013 World Press Photo show (both photographers had chosen local patterned cloth as a backdrop). Two tough guys pose topless wearing ‘ethnic’ pyjamas that both clash with and compliment the background. They are holding the kind of dusty plastic flowers that you will find in any town market in Africa. This is an intriguing shot - one wonders if the artist’s play with their masculinity was a game the sitter’s understood.

Jason Clarke’s 'Her Story’ shows a young woman standing in a Freetown shanty’s alley. She stands astride a drain and the tin walls of the houses at first suggests poverty. But her countenance has attitude, and washing above her is clean and pretty. She, and where she stands, is not needy of our pity. She is in full control and exudes power and strength. As with the ‘Choir Master’ above this is a alternative non-colonial view of Africa that is refreshing.

Linda Brownlie’s shot of Zadie Smith is a magazine commission. It is a picture that might live for fleeting moment as you flick through the glossy pages, but in this gallery context it has real authority. It is square format and the sitter holds the left half of frame. The right half falls away to black. The composition is counter intuitive - a lesser photographer would re-frame to put her in the centre, and the negative black space works to emphasise the curious plaintive expression on Zadie Smith’s face.
Anoush Abrar apparently had there minutes to get his shot of Kofi Anan. The brief from Die Zeit was to shoot a black and white shot with Anan’s eyes shut. Abrar met the brief and in bringing the contrasting textural quality of skin, hair and cloth to the fore he has created a simple yet expansive image that is a worthy winner of the 3rd prize.

John Nassari's No.61 East London

John Nassari’s 'No 61 East London’ is my favourite. It is a full focus wide shot of a typical London terrace. The colour is natural and the shot is clean and unadulterated. We see a family, man, woman and baby, two boys on bikes and two teenagers. Not knowing the context (other than it is a ‘family’) lets us construct our own narrative. The older and younger guys on the extremities of the group look outward (are they longing to escape ? are they looking for threats ?); the mother is enthralled with her baby (to the detriment of her man ?); the boys circle each other (an allegory for the life games we all play ?) and the young adults are distant like the older ones - only the girls hand tenderly touching his shoulder bridging a gap. This is a narrative piece - a narrative that the viewer can enjoy creating themselves.

Antoine De Ras’s shot of Oscar Pistorius shows him in the dock, his head bowed. This is a news shot - journalism first and art second - but its lighting and composition makes it look like a studio piece. This disorientates the viewer and I think it is this that adds gravitas to the picture. We are not quite sure of context and our confusion as to whether or not Pistorious is a willing participant in this portrait gives it added drama that is resonant of the scandal itself.

Andy Massaccesi’s shoots ‘Fabio’ - a man with a bag on his back with a goat in it. This is the last picture I viewed, and was glad to leave the show smiling.