The National Portrait Gallery is launching an ambitious project, a national portrait designed to foster unity within a nation grappling with division. The core question it poses is whether a shared depiction of Britain can truly bind together a country that appears to be fragmenting. This is the profound and forward-thinking aspiration behind Es Devlin’s latest exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. It’s a dynamic, living portrait, eschewing traditional figures like royalty, politicians, or celebrities for the faces of everyday individuals, merging and separating in a continuous flow.
Developed in partnership with Google Arts & Culture Lab, ‘A National Portrait for the National Portrait Gallery’ encourages individuals throughout the United Kingdom to submit their selfies. These images are then artfully transformed into portraits reminiscent of Devlin’s signature smudged charcoal and chalk aesthetic. Subsequently, they become part of an ever-changing, circulating display of portraits projected onto a framed screen.
‘We can all coexist’: Artist Es Devlin Uses Selfies to Unite the UK in a Portrait of the Nation
The National Portrait Gallery is embarking on a groundbreaking initiative, aiming to create a unified portrait of Britain that seeks to bring people together in an increasingly fragmented society. The central inquiry is whether a collective representation of the nation can hold together a country that feels on the verge of splitting apart. This question fuels the quiet yet radical ambition behind Es Devlin’s new installation at the National Portrait Gallery. The artwork is envisioned as a living portrait, composed not of monarchs, politicians, or celebrities, but of countless ordinary faces that drift into and out of each other.
Created in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture Lab, ‘A National Portrait for the National Portrait Gallery’ invites people from all corners of the UK to upload a selfie. Each submission is then artfully converted into a portrait rendered in Devlin’s distinctive, evocative style of smoky charcoal and chalk. These transformed portraits then join a continuously evolving and rotating carousel projected onto a framed screen, forming a collective digital tapestry of the nation.