Poignant images of teenagers all dressed up for school proms which were cancelled because of the pandemic have won one of the world’s most prestigious photography prizes.
The National Portrait Gallery on Tuesday named Alys Tomlinson as winner of the 2020 Taylor Wessing photographic portrait prize. She wins £15,000.
Tomlinson, frustrated at not being able to travel for work, decided over the summer to take pictures of local teenagers whose proms were cancelled. She persuaded them to dress up in what they would have worn and she photographed them in their back gardens or local parks.
She titled the series Lost Summer. “I feel that there is a vulnerability and sadness to the portraits, but also a resilience,” Tomlinson said.
“The school year ended abruptly, with no opportunity to say goodbye to friends and nothing to mark the occasion of leaving school. I wanted to photograph each teenager framed by nature, merging their inner and outer worlds.
“There is a quietness to the images and they represent a loss and longing, but also celebrate each teenager as an individual, navigating this extraordinary time.”
Tomlinson, who was Sony photographer of the year in 2018, won for three portraits in the series – Samuel, Jack and Jameela. Judges said they were “very simple, but powerful images with a beautiful clarity. Without being heavy handed, they spoke to the events of 2020, including lockdown, and the generation most affected by them.”
This year’s winner was announced on social media rather than the usual evening event at the gallery. The annual exhibition of the best portraits will also be an online one on the gallery’s website with the building closed until 2023 for a major redevelopment.
The £3,000 second prize went to Lydia Goldblatt for an image of a child in a tent in the garden. The £2,000 third prize was awarded to Yolanda Y.Liou for a portrait of the model, instagrammer and plus size advocate Enam Ewura Adjoa Asiama.
It was the first time in the prize’s history that all three winners were women. They were chosen from a contest which this year attracted 5,531 submissions entered by 2,169 photographers from 75 countries. A total of 54 portraits from 37 artists have been selected for display.
The 2020 judges included Edward Enninful, editor-in-chief of British Vogue, photographer Mark Neville and Penny Martin, editor-in-chief of The Gentlewoman.
Nicholas Cullinan, director of the gallery who chaired the judging panel said the prize annually displayed the best in contemporary portrait photography “and despite the unprecedented circumstances, this year is no exception. I hope that many more visitors from across the world will have the opportunity to enjoy the exhibition online.”
