National Portrait Gallery – Hold Still – a portrait of our nation in 2020 – the book.

THE BOOK: NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY – HOLD STILL

I woke up to amazing news today that National Portrait Gallery have together with their patron Kate Middleton Kensington Palace – created a book: Hold Still – A portrait of our nation in 2020.

It is home to all 100 of the images that were selected by a panel of judges and includes my image of Paul & Simon in their Arlington House flat.

Being part of this journey with this exhibition has been a wild ride and in all of the challenges and dark times in the past year, it has been a beacon of hope. A collection of images so emotive, building a sense of connection not only in moments we all feel so entwined with, but also in the ripple effects of moments shared with people whose images sit side by side with and folk who have shared their reflections about the impact of the collection of images has had for them.

The image in this post of the book cover includes the following photos:

Book cover: Melanie by Johannah Churchill

The look of lockdown by Lotti Sofia Photography

Rainbow by Helen Pugh Portraits

The first news was shared in September last year that the image of Paul & Simon had been included in the final 100 and that it was picked by Nicholas Cullinan in the Director’s Choice. In October, the community exhibition was launched on billboards around the country, the flagship site at London Waterloo and one in my hometown, where one rainy night, I got to meet Paul & Simon for the first time as we went to see the poster together, at a social distance! The exhibition took to roost at National Memorial Arboretum and then today the news that they will forever be gathered together in this book.

It will be released on 7th May 2021 and the profits will be split between @nationalportraitgallery charities and @mindcharity

To find out more about the HOLD STILL story and to buy a copy of the image click here.