05 / Studio · Portraiture · Transformation · Play
The feathered crown
Untitled study
I ask almost everyone I photograph to wear the same feathered crown. Their backgrounds, positions in society and views of the world can be far apart. The crown gives them a shared starting point.
07 photographs
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What happens beneath the feathers.
Its soft feathers and warm colour are inviting. It is also unfamiliar, something none of them would ordinarily wear. Asking someone to put it on is one of the few occasions when I choose something for them to wear in a portrait.
I use that unfamiliarity to interrupt the public face we have learnt to present. I look for a moment when familiar ways of holding ourselves loosen and a less rehearsed expression comes into view.
Sometimes this appears in laughter or a hand reaching for the feathers. Sometimes it is a quiet look or a slight change in posture. The repeated crown draws attention to these individual responses. Through them, I invite the viewer to look beyond the roles and labels by which we usually recognise one another.
Threads through the work
