The National Portrait Gallery revealed that the £15,000-winning image offers an unconventional portrayal of motherhood.
The 2024 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize has been awarded to British photographer Steph Wilson for her portrait ‘Sonam’ which portrays an unconventional and “imperfect” take on motherhood. The National Portrait Gallery announced that Wilson, who splits her time between London and Paris, will receive a £15,000 prize for her work.
As part of her larger project ‘Ideal Mother’, Wilson’s portrait features Sonam, a woman she connected with on Instagram after seeking out mothers who could offer atypical representations of motherhood. Wilson aimed to highlight the multifaceted nature of her subjects, showing them as individuals with diverse qualities and achievements, not just as mothers.
In the portrait, Sonam presents an unexpectedly masculine image of motherhood. She sits with her legs spread wide, her baby clinging to her chest. Her unsmiling, direct gaze, coupled with her close-cropped hair and moustache, challenge conventional portrayals of maternal femininity.
By profession, Sonam is a wig-maker, and the false moustache she wears symbolizes both her career and her personal expression. It also reflects the encouragement she received from friends and family to embrace her masculine features.
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) described the winning portrait as a powerful representation of balance, expanding the conversation on pregnancy and parenthood while celebrating individuality and authenticity. The judges were immediately drawn to the portrait, which they felt challenged preconceived notions. They highlighted how the connection between Sonam and her baby, along with the subtle details that reveal Sonam’s character, added depth and complexity to the image.
The second prize of £3,000 went to Australian photographer Adam Ferguson for his series ‘Big Sky’. This collection, created over a decade, includes three portraits captured during extended journeys across the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The series explores themes of globalization, climate breakdown, and the colonial legacy in modern Australia, all set against the romanticized backdrop of the outback.
Out of Love, Out of Necessity
Dutch photographer Tjitske Sluis was awarded the £2,000 third prize for her series ‘Out of Love, Out of Necessity’, which documents her mother’s final stages of life as Sluis cared for her. Coming from a background in journalism, Sluis turned to photography as a means of coping with grief, while her mother, Teuntje, found comfort and humor in being photographed during this difficult time.
The £8,000 photographic commission was given to South African photographer Jesse Navarre Vos for his portrait ‘Mom, I’ll Follow You Still’. This image is part of his series ‘I’ll Come Following You’, which depicts his mother, Edith Mavis Velk (who is actually his biological paternal grandmother and legal guardian). The photograph captures Edith in a moment of pause in the lift of the care facility where she had to move after a burglary left her unable to care for herself.
These winning portraits will be showcased at the NPG as part of the ‘Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2024’ exhibition, alongside Diana Markosian’s ‘Father’ series and a newly unveiled portrait of clean-air advocate Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah by last year’s winner of the photographic commission, Serena Brown.
The 2024 judging panel included multimedia artist Pogus Caesar, curators Alona Pardo and Lou Stoppard, and Clare Freestone, the NPG’s curator of photography.
