British Journal of Photography launches a unique nationwide exhibition of portraiture, depicting the many faces of modern Britain, whilst utilising thehub software to offer fine-art print sales to art-lovers across the length and breadth of the UK.
Earlier this year the British Journal of Photography openedsubmissions to the ‘Portrait of Britain’ exhibition in conjunction with JCDecaux, offering photographers from any background the unique opportunity to display their work in hundreds of locations across the country. With all images available for purchase via thehub.
The exhibition took the concept of a gallery and turned it on its head, taking art from the closed walls of galleries and right onto the streets, exhibiting the artwork to an entirely new audience in an exciting and unique way, taking over screens in shopping malls, train stations and high streets throughout September and October, underlining the enduring power of the portrait.
Selected from thousands of entries, the jury curated the exhibition down to 100 individual images that capture the face of Britain, reflecting not just the multiformity of British people, but also the myriad of styles and approaches to contemporary photographic portraiture.
Envisaged as an exhibition ‘by the people, of the people, for the people’, Portrait of Britain was initiated as an open call for photographs that celebrate the country’s unique heritage and diversity, confronting the public with a reflection of themselves as they go about their daily lives.
“Public art works well when it engages with its surroundings and local population,” says Simon Bainbridge, editorial director of the British Journal of Photography. “That’s what we wanted to do with Portrait of Britain. We wanted to show diversity in terms of who is being photographed, but we also wanted to see different ways of photographing. These are pictures that we all take in everyday life, but raised to a higher level by selecting, editing and presenting them in such a wide-ranging public exhibition.”
The majority of subjects are everyday people, given noble status on the screens usually reserved for models and celebrities. However, there are some familiar names among the images such as Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussein, Faithless singer Maxi Jazz, Grime artist Stormzy, and photographer Don McCullin, as well some home-grown heroes such as Mick Ellis, who was watch manager at the London Fire Brigade.
The images represent the varying styles of photography, some posed, some moments captured at random, some formal, others showing humanity at play. ‘Home’ is a common theme running throughout many of the images, as are the stories of migration and integration, picking up the mood of the country in post-Brexit times.
Portrait of Britain can be seen on public screens up and down the country until the end of October!
For more information on thehub and how it can help you to share and sell your art, take a tour via the link below!
