Photography by a De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) graduate is now being displayed nationwide after being selected as a winner of this year’s prestigious Portrait of Britain awards.
The work of Harry George Hall will be displayed on billboards up and down the country as one of 100 portraits aiming to showcase the rich tapestry of people and stories that make up modern day Britain.
The display, now heralded as the largest contemporary portrait exhibition ever, will span the entire month of September – marking the fourth year it has been running annually.
In Leicester, the 100 winning portraits will be displayed on digital screens in Leicester Railway Station and the Highcross shopping centre.
Harry, a 28-year-old professional photographer from Suffolk - but now based in London, said: “I feel really privileged to be part of this year’s competition.
“The visual identity of Britain is an exciting and evolving one and it’s huge for me that my work has been deemed representative of that.”
RELATED NEWS
Be inspired. Come to our next DMU Open Day
DMU photography grad leaves lasting legacy for Leicester
Photography grad achieves dream of working with RPS
Drawing on his skills of storytelling as a DMU English Literature and Language graduate, Harry Hall’s winning portrait – titled ‘The Suffolk Sky Dancers’ – shows the ‘captain of the Mid Suffolk Radio Modellers’ using a headset to command his remote control aircraft.
Mr Hall said: “I grew up in the Suffolk countryside and I wanted to celebrate the people there with this work - Britain is bursting with people doing wonderful and diverse things and I wanted to be part of illustrating that.”
Aside from his personal projects, Harry has also produced a variety of photographs for branded clients like Nike and the Daily Telegraph – including shots of stars such as Ed Sheeran, Kit Harrington, Mo Farah and Kendall Jenner.
The Portrait of Britain award-winning nationwide photography showcase is run by the British Journal of Photography in their endeavour to produce an exhibition by the people, for the people.
The journal’s editorial director Simon Bainbridge said: “Facing a divided nation, Portrait of Britain aims to frame questions of identity differently; from Brighton to Glasgow, in train stations and shopping centres, the photographs will come into view like an encounter with a stranger in the street.”
The project is produced in collaboration with JCDecaux UK, the country’s leading digital media company in Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising, who deliver 46% of the 1.8 billion weekly impressions garnered from billboards on high streets and in airports.
Posted on Monday 9 September 2019