Amongst the influences that have led me to this project are John Singer Sargent's portraits, mainly of women, and the Tudor collection in the London National Portrait Gallery. The Tudor portraits convey an intensity of purpose as the subject of the work has an existence beyond the image, both as symbol and indeed as metaphor. The necessity to contrive in their own impression is intriguing, there is a sense of desire to be part of a future in which they will be immortalised not as truth but as a statement. In contrast to the Tudor gentry, John Singers Sargent's society women certainly had opportunity to see themselves more frequently through photography and contemplate their image and its representation. Sargent seems to allow them that self awareness and the attempt at ownership of their image in his paintings, a kind of knowing collaboration in its process. Where as Tudor portraits had the expectation of representing many things, I feel that Sargent's women perversely desire to express one thing, themselves, to communicate with the world to say, this is who I am, as an individual and in Sargent they felt safe to present themselves as robustly as their ego would allow.
It has been suggested of Sargent works, that while he may have pursued truth in all its aspects, his constitution avoided "ugliness" and "vulgarity" and indeed he was predominantly concerned with the beauty he could find in his subjects. I am tied to a similar route; I want to pursue the truth in process of image making rather than a desire to expose an individual. My hope is that by inviting certain people to collaborate, contrive and contort with me in the process of taking their portrait what might be evidenced is a representation of an individuals essence but as a layered multi dimensional truth.
I would like you to allow me the opportunity to produce an image of you, to discuss how you may wish to look, what you feel inclined to represent, what you feel compelled to reveal, but with one request that you are not fearful to explore the process. The end result, if it arrives, may be an exhibition or book of photographic portraits and in some cases drawings. Examples of my work included as reference.
Let me know if you feel you would like to be involved and we can take it from there.
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