Sam Holden
+44(0)7760 175957
info@samholden.com
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Artist's Statement

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The portrait is a trialogue of subjectivities: The photographer, subject and viewer’s voices all audible to differing degrees depending on their desire to be heard.

With ‘Dialogue’ I have removed the photographer from the portraitic trialogue; leaving the subject and viewer in direct conversation.

Dialogue

After entering the studio and being positioned in front of the camera, sitters are given the following information: “Using image-capture software the camera is going to photograph you every 5 seconds for next half an hour. The resulting 361 images will be displayed unedited and in chronological order. The first photograph will be taken in 20 seconds time”.

At this point I leave the studio. By relinquishing my control over the shutters point of release and the editing of the resultant images, the sitter alone speaks to the viewer; in words of their own choosing.

Despite being presented chronologically, from the top left corner to the bottom right,
there is no hierarchy or designated starting point for the viewer. They are free to move at random from frame to frame, collecting whichever images catch their eye, garnering information accordingly.

As well as examining the conflicts present in a portraits creation, each image works on a more traditional level; through the subjects response to the photographic situation the viewer is given an insight into the personality of the sitter and their relationship with their own self-image and it’s reproduction.

Sam Holden © 2008