“What makes a portrait special? What attracts us to spend time considering the face of someone that we do not know and have not met?”
Sandy Nairne, Director, National Portrait Gallery
“(In the anonymous photograph) we know nothing about the people or the context in which the photograph was taken. In these circumstances, the imagination can take over. Let us read something into the photograph; let the photograph be a trigger of a narrative.”
Alexander McCall Smith, from the introduction to Being Human
These quotes got me thinking about anonymous portraits. And how when I sit on public transport I find myself thinking about the my fellow passengers and wondering who they are? So I started to take sneeky photographs of them with my iphone...
(incidentally it is interesting that technology allows us to do this, how often during a day are we spied on; CCTV, oyster cards tracking our movement, creditcards tracking out spending, search engines keeping tabs on our interests, ahhhh scary)
I decided it would be less contrived and more interesting for me if I asked friends of mine to write some narratives for these anonymous passengers.
I asked them:
_Who are they:
Name? Age? Occupation? Married/Single? Any Children?
_Where are they going on this journey today?
_What are they thinking about?
_Do they have any hobbies or belong to any clubs?
_What is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to them?
_Do they have any secrets?
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