45 Seconds…
In ‘A Short History of Photography’ Walter Benjamin comments that the long time exposures needed for early photographic portraits: ‘…taught the models to live inside rather than outside the moment.’ I took this as my inspiration for 45 Seconds… It is an investigation into how a portrait subject responds when holding a pose for a long period and forms part of my broader inquiry into strategies portrait photographers use for ‘disarming the pose’ of their subjects. I asked each of my subjects to assume a pose and to hold this for 45 seconds. I made one photograph at the start and one at the end of this time period. The work raises questions about what, if anything, surface appearances can reveal about identity.  The diptychs also mark the passage of time and may prompt viewers to reflect on mortality.
Keith Greenough April 2013