OUT OF THE DARK,

INVISIBLE PORTRAITS

Black card, clips, tension wire

The people in this work were all photographed in Derry during UK City of Culture, they come from all walks of life and their ages range from fourteen to nearly ninety-nine. I photographed people in the street, in shops, bars, in their homes, on the Peace Bridge, in community centres and at their places of work. They represent a cross section of what makes up this community. There is no hierarchy as to who has their portrait in this installation some people have a couple of portraits of themselves but mostly it is just one.

Mostly we walk past one another barely noticing each other and society doesn’t really allow us to spend time looking too closely at people we don’t know. The ‘Invisible Portraits’ allow us a small intimate encounter. They demand that we spend a little longer looking, and let the faces reveal themselves. Sometimes this involves shifting our position, and adjusting our viewpoint and even looking at them from the other side. When we do this the invisible becomes visible.