'Gail and Beaux' © Pat Martin

Three photographers have been shortlisted to be in with a chance of winning the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2019. 

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The prize-winning portraits include a thoughtful sitter from the Belfast Conway estate; a family ready for their day out on Whitley Bay beach, England; and works from a series depicting the photographer’s late mother in Los Angeles. 

The following three photographers have been shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2019:

© Enda Bowe 

'Neil' from the series 'Love’s Fire Song' by Enda Bowe

Enda Bowe (21.05.1972) is an Irish photographer based in London. Bowe’s work is concerned with storytelling and the search for light and beauty in the ordinary. He has had work exhibited at Red Hook Gallery, New York, The V&A Museum, London, Fotohof, Salzburg, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, and VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art, Ireland. Bowe’s shortlisted work portrays Neil, a young man photographed as part of Bowe’s series on the Belfast Conway estate. Bowe says, ‘l concentrated on the ordinary, the everyday. The photographs use a saturated colour palette with only subtle symbolisms, and without reference to the specific locations they were taken. Free from political and geographical context, the photographs speak of longing, yearning, aspirations and vulnerabilities of young people in Belfast today.’

© Garrod Kirkwood

'The Hubbucks' from the series 'England' by Garrod Kirkwood

Garrod Kirkwood (29.05.1979) is a British photographer based on the North East coast of England. His work is driven by environment and the people that inhabit it. Kirkwood’s shortlisted photograph shows a family of individual personalities, on the cusp of a holiday adventure. Kirkwood says, ‘this is a magical moment and portrait of a family and group of individuals that we all can relate to.’ Kirkwood describes the photograph, taken in Whitley Bay, England as ‘a cinematic scene from real life.’

'Mom (our last one)' © Pat Martin

'Gail and Beaux'; 'Mom (our last one)' from the series 'Goldie (Mother)' by Pat Martin

Pat Martin (10.07.1992) is an American photographer from Los Angeles, California. Martin uses photography to connect with personal memories, while also working to understand his own relationship with time. He sees the present as an opportunity to build upon an empty family album, while also finding new connections through portraiture. Martin’s shortlisted works intimately document his late mother who struggled with addiction issues throughout her life. Martin says, ‘For most of my life, I misunderstood my mother and witnessed how the world misunderstood her. Photographing her became a way of looking into a mirror and finding details never noticed. There were always new ones to discover, and something new to hide.’

The overall winner of the competition will be announced on Tuesday 5 November 2019.

2018 Taylor Wessing photography Portrait Prize shortlist