The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize Exhibit showcases a diverse collection of images taken by photographers from all walks of life, regardless of experience. I was lucky enough to attend the exhibit and was enthralled by the variety of work on display. As the National Portrait Gallery website states, there is a range of work “from formal commissioned portraits to more spontaneous and intimate moments capturing friends and family.” 

I was particularly affected by the third prize winner Tjitske Sluis’ piece ‘Mom’ from her series ‘Out of Love, Out of Necessity’. The portrait depicts her sleeping mother, serene and delicate. The description of the artist’s series explained that it was a portrayal of the subject’s final stages of her life, while Sluis cared for her. Through her art, Sluis grieved for a person who was still alive, and it shines through her work, beautifully raw and vulnerable. A sense of connection is felt clearly through the work, a deep kinship understood only by those who possess it.  

The fear that shot through me at the instant and unwelcome assumption of the portrait depicting a body contrasted with the otherwise tranquil image. To me, it felt uncomfortably intimate, unashamed in this painful depiction of reality, of a loving relationship nearing its end. It was special in the way that it forced me to reflect inward, consider the loved ones in my life and the finite time I have with them. It invoked feelings of grief for people in my life who have not yet departed, either. 

A curious dog perched on the subject’s side, stares up at the camera with bright eyes- expectant and contrasting with the sensitive atmosphere the image possesses. Like the person behind the camera, it too, is experiencing the last stages of ‘Mom’s’ life. Perhaps it provides a glimpse into the role Sluis played when no camera was present. A bystander to the inevitable, to a life flickering out.

Citations:

Sluis, T. (2023) ‘Mom’, from series ‘Out of Love, Out of Necessity’ [Photograph]