I captured this video around Es Devlin’s A National Portrait project, capturing footage across the National Portrait Gallery and Es Devlin’s studio.
The project centred around an evolving digital artwork that invited members of the public to become part of a collective portrait of the nation. My role was to document both the public-facing experience inside the gallery and the more intimate creative process behind the work, capturing the atmosphere, detail and human interaction surrounding the installation.
The final film needed to feel considered, artistic and documentary-led, reflecting the scale of the project while still holding onto the quieter behind-the-scenes moments that helped connect the finished piece back to her creative process.
Filming across both a live gallery environment and an artist’s studio required a discreet and adaptable approach. At the National Portrait Gallery, the focus was on capturing the atmosphere of the space without disrupting the event, guests or the experience of the artwork itself.
I worked in a discreet, observational style, capturing natural interactions, audience reactions, details of the installation and the wider gallery setting. The aim was to create a visual narrative that felt immersive and authentic.
In Es Devlin’s studio, the approach shifted to something more intimate and reflective. I focused on the details of the creative process, the textures of the space and the moments that helped connect the finished artwork back to the artist behind it.
The overall approach was to balance scale and atmosphere with subtle, human moments.
The final video brought together the public energy of the National Portrait Gallery, the intimacy of Es Devlin creating a live portrait and the quieter behind-the-scenes moments from her studio into one polished, documentary-style film.
By combining gallery coverage, live portrait footage, studio details and natural observational moments, the film gave viewers a deeper sense of the artwork’s impact, the process behind it and the human connection at the centre of the piece.
