Portrait of Britain: award-winning images that capture the face of a changing nation
Portrait of Britain is an annual photography exhibition showcasing the best portraits taken by people throughout the country.
"Roy had an African grey parrot on his back when I saw him on a beach in Devon. He and his wife were on holiday with two of these birds, which they rescued, and their dog. As part of the rehabilitation process, the birds are taken out in cages, giving them access to the open sea air." – Rehabilitating Roy's Parrot © Alexander Flemming
The winning photographs, selected from the British Journal of Photography's open-call competition, will be displayed on digital billboard screens nationwide – in train stations, airports, shopping centres and on high streets – and will be seen by over 10 million people.
Now in its third year, the exhibition will re-launch on 1 September 2018 for one month, and for the first time, it will be accompanied by a book. Portrait of Britain is a small, chunky hardback featuring the 200 shortlisted portraits alongside information about each image and selected quotes from the photographers. Together these photographs celebrate the richness and diversity of a vibrant nation at a time of pivotal change.
Today, the final 100 winners have been revealed for 2018. Portraits range from Alexander Fleming’s photography of Roy taking his African Grey Parrot to the beach in Devon for rehabilitation, to Euan Myles’ portrait of Daniel, a Nigerian Marine Biologist now working in Sutherland in the far north of Scotland. Public figures including Will Young and Zandra Rhodes feature in this year's selection, but the majority of the photographs are of everyday people, such as Nick Simpson’s image of The General, who he encountered walking down Holloway Road early one Saturday morning.
Photographer Tom Oldham is used to shooting famous faces for his portrait work, but he turned the camera on his own son for his Portrait of Britain entry. "It’s a much simpler image, closer to home and just a clean shot in beautiful light, taken at dusk at Studland in Dorset. Everything I love in one frame," he says.
"Portrait of Britain is public art on a huge scale – a countrywide exhibition that puts the nation’s citizens centre stage in bustling public spaces, and this year's submissions made it all the more hard to choose the 100 winning photographers," says Simon Bainbridge, Editorial Director of British Journal of Photography.
"In our third year, the portraits will take over Great Britain throughout September, confronting the public with a reflection of themselves as they go about their daily business. Taken from all walks of life, these subjects share the same space, looking back at the public from the screen. The effect is a lingering glance, and witnessed by millions of passersby."
See the list of winners for this year's Portrait of Britain at www.portraitofbritain.uk.
"I met this young couple by chance and photographed them for a series about the changing face of Folkestone." – Sea Change Part 8 © Lee Brodhurst-Hooper
Zandra © Curtis Gibson
"These Catholic girls are pictured with their much-loved Muslim nanny. I wanted to show the close bond between them despite their difference in age and ethnicity." – Ties © Alexandra Adami
"I spotted Roxy at Dreamland amusement park during Margate Pride. She was dressed to kill. We chatted briefly about her dress and after that she was happy to be photographed." – Roxy Gore © Joe Lang
"Asma, a member of an all-female Muslim basketball team, is pictured with some of her teammates. They are part of a worldwide campaign that is urging the International Basketball Federation to lift the ban on religious headgear in elite sports." – Asma © Sophie Green
"Diran is a British writer who wrote a very moving novel about a young black man who studied at Oxford. I made this portrait of Diran, who was himself a student at Oxford, as part of an initiative to encourage people other than white males to apply to study at the university." – Diran Adebayo in front of a portrait of Sir Christopher Wren ( An Ordinary Commoner) Oxford © Rory Carnegie
"When we are constantly told by the media that we as a nation have an uncertain future ahead of us, sometimes you just need to laugh. In this case it was because of a nine-week-old pug puppy, who surprised Shannon." – Shannon © Samuel McElwee
"Daniel (left) travelled from Nigeria to the northwest of Scotland to fulfil his dream of working as a marine biologist. It is one of the wildest and wettest parts of the UK but he has fallen in love with the area and plans to stay." – Night Watch at Salmon Farm © Euan Myles
"I photographed Mao, a former student of mine from Japan, for a project exploring how sight, touch and proprioception — the perception of stimuli relating to one’s own position — combine to create a convincing feeling of body ownership and understanding of our reality." – Mao © Steven Barritt
"Nan was born with albinism. She has become my muse." – In the Job Centre © Andrea Zvadova
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Portrait of Britain, published by Hoxton Mini Press
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