The Portrait

The Portrait is part of PHOTO 2022: International Festival of Photography.

As a genre of photography that conflates image with identity, ‘the portrait’ carries a complex and problematic past. Yet how portraiture is made and used is ever-evolving. The history of portraiture is itself a record of social change, documenting shifts in cultural values and technological advances. Just as the role that portraiture performs in our lives has transformed, so too have the attitudes and approaches of artists who are responding to the task of art-making, amidst the rapidly changing conditions of contemporary visual culture.

The Portrait is an investigation into the emerging and fluid possibilities of portrait photography and its impact upon image-making today. Ten artists have been invited to produce ‘a portrait’ for exhibition. The artists selected work in both traditional modes of portrait photography and within alternative multidisciplinary practices. By considering the medium in an expanded sense, the artists are able to contemplate, critique and challenge the limits of what a portrait can be.

*Work pictured: Arini Byng, Remember what you heard when you weren't even listening, 2019-21, video still. Courtesy of the artist.