Pictures of bride in Turner Contemporary and reveller at Margate Pride feature in Portrait of Britain exhibition
Published: 12:00, 07 September 2018
A Birchington bride and a “dressed to kill” reveller at Margate Pride will be seen at rail stations and airports all over the country as part of a national photography exhibition.
The images are two of 100 stunning snaps selected out of 13,000 entries for a Portrait of Britain.
In its third year, the digital show seeks to document the diversity of the great British public and showcase the work of photographers.
Scarlet Drayson was snapped at Turner Contemporary during her wedding reception and says the news came as a complete surprise.
The 37-year-old said: “Artist Dylan Collard, who coincidentally was at the gallery at the same time as our reception, took my photo for his project, Ages of Us.
"Now that photo is part of 200 portraits which capture ‘the face of a changing nation’ apparently and will be featured in a book.
"I’m utterly confused, bewildered and flattered by this news.”
Collard’s Ages Of Us project looks at how ideas, aspirations and attitudes change as we age. So far he has photographed 89 people between the ages of four months and 86 years.
The second image features Roxy Gore at Dreamland during last year’s Margate Pride.
Snapper Joe Lang described how he took the photo.
He said: “I spotted Roxy dressed to kill in a flaming new wig.
“We chatted briefly about her making her dress and I helped to pin it back where it had popped open.
“After that she was happy to be photographed although nervous.”
The British Journal of Photography launched the nationwide exhibition across JCDecaux’s national channel of digital screens last weekend.
Simon Bainbridge, editorial director of British Journal of Photography, explained: “Portrait of Britain is public art on a huge scale – a countrywide exhibition that puts the nation’s citizens centre stage in bustling public spaces.
"Taken from all walks of life, these subjects share the same space, looking back at the public from the screen.
“The effect is a lingering glance, and witnessed by millions of passersby.”
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Jodie Nesling