This image is taken from the series entitled ‘Capture’. Dryden Goodwin took 11 portraits of passers by in the same London location one evening. He uses the point of a compass as a drawing device, and scratches over the head and face of each portrait. The net like matrix of lines that are scratched over the portraits acts as a device to reveal and emphasise the individuals physical structure, yet also act as a mask. The subtle and almost gentle scratched tracings has the unintentional effect of distorting the individual’s facial expression. Dryden Goodwin successfully extends the moments captured within each image by going beyond soupy taking a portrait image, by tracing over it. Once again, the subject is staring off into the distance and appears to have no knowledge of the photo being taken. The focus gradually decreases into the background, with subjects at the back of the image being unrecognisable. As I live in London, I understand the overwhelming atmosphere that can be caused due to the busyness and hectic lifestyle of such a crowded city. The intricate and different personal masks that Goodwin draws on all his subjects shows how we remain a sense of individuality in such an over populated capital.
Alice Maklan
L1 Photography, University of the West of England
UWE Bristol Photography Research Group 