As writers we are always searching for characters. Yesterday in the National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Lane, London at The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2009 exhibition I was spoilt for choice!
And now, one day later, a small but significant number of portraits are firmly fixed in my mind – these are people who will endure for me and I’m sure will begin to people my writing – in particular a veteran from the war in Afghanistan, a boy collecting rubbish to sell, Stas, and a tall woman in a red coat in the snow – each of these portraits is a story in waiting and alreadyI’ve been inspired to start scribbling!
To see the prize winners go to
http://www.npg.org.uk:8080/photoprize/site09/exhibition2_winners.php To see portraits from this and earlier years also use google images
And the BEST NEWS – If you want to be similarly inspired – the exhibition will tour to the Shipley Art Gallery in Newcastle from 27 March to 6 June 2010
This portrait is part of a larger series called Locked and depicts Stas, a 15-year-old inmate of a maximum security prison in Russia. Chelbin, the photographer, spent several days in the prison but only noticed Stas on the last day. ‘He was extremely quiet and distant… I could feel there was an enormous burden on his shoulders. I spent several hours with Stas in different locations in order to build up his trust. When we finished I learned that he had been sentenced for murder.’
Thank you for these images and th enotion of how such experiences influence the way we build characters. Super blog.
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