“It is in each other that we see ourselves and form our sense of place,” says Mick Moore, CEO and Creative Director of British Journal of Photography, reflecting on the social value of the initiative. “Portrait of Britain captures the quirky, the mundane, the here and now of the extraordinary everyday in which we live.”
The public exhibition gives the photographers “a place to be seen and be visible in a world where so many pictures reside”, says Nadav Kander, one of this year’s judges, who is himself one of the world’s leading portrait photographers. “It is an opportunity to be recognised and celebrated by your peers, and the public,” adds another judge, curator Sebah Chaudhry.
The winning portraits in this latest edition can also be seen in an accompanying book, alongside another 100 shortlisted photographs. Portrait of Britain Volume 6 is published by Bluecoat Press, the photobook publisher that in recent years has focused solely on the work of UK-based photographers, including that of Tish Murtha, Daniel Meadows, Markéta Luska?ová and many others.
“We couldn’t imagine a better way to kickstart the new year than with the Portrait of Britain exhibition on our digital screens,” says Dave McEvoy, CMO at JCDecaux UK. “We love this joyous, inclusive and thought-provoking celebration of what it means to live in Britain today.”
JCDecaux’s network of out-of-home digital screens are located in major transport hubs, roadsides, shopping centres and high streets across the UK, giving unrivalled visibility to the country’s biggest annual public art event. According to McEvoy, its screen network reaches more than 90 per cent of the UK each week.
“Giving back to the community has always been at the heart of our business,” he says, “ever since our founder Jean-Claude Decaux had an idea to provide and maintain bus shelters free of charge, paid for by the advertising posters displayed on them… Our JCDecaux Community Channel enables not-for-profit, community, charitable and arts organisations to access out-of-home, in line with our purpose and values.”
Indeed, community is a theme that runs throughout this year’s Portrait of Britain, such as Felicity Crawshaw’s picture of Joseph, a community activist working with his neighbours to improve their local habitat, or Steve Bright’s photograph of John, one of many portraits made of the Windrush generation. Together, these portraits highlight not just a nation of individuals; they recognise also that we all exist within constellations made up of family, neighbours and shared values and interests.
The 100 winning images will be exhibited on JCDecaux digital screens across the UK from 08 January, while 200 shortlisted images are featured in the Portrait of Britain Vol. 6 photobook, available now on Bluecoat Press.
