The National Portrait Gallery, London, has unveiled a major new commission of portrait drawings of some of the UK’s leading film directors by London-born artist Nina Mae Fowler. The portraits have gone on public display for the first time in a new display Luminary Drawings: Portraits of Film Directors by Nina Mae Fowler (12 April – 1 October 2019). Image credits: All works © National Portrait Gallery. Photographed by Douglas Atfield
Amma Asante, (A Way of Life, A United Kingdom, Where Hands Touch), said: “It has been both a privilege and a fascinating experience to sit for Nina. Her work somehow captures what a photograph cannot. There is a mystique that I find utterly compelling and beautiful. “
Fowler’s work often investigates fame, desire and our relationship with cinema. For the commission, she invited directors Amma Asante, Paul Greengrass, Asif Kapadia, Ken Loach, Sam Mendes, Nick Park, Sally Potter, Sir Ridley Scott and Joe Wright to choose a film of particular significance to them. During the sittings, Fowler projected the film of their choice, and recorded their reactions on camera and through loose sketches, with their faces lit only by the light of the screen in an otherwise darkened space.
Luminary Drawings: Portraits of Film Directors by Nina Mae Fowler
12 April – 1 October 2019
National Portrait Gallery London npg.org.uk
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