Hold Still, stay still, don’t move: it is the photographer’s request just before the shot, but it was also the collective order to all citizens during the last year dominated by the pandemic. All stopped, locked in the house, locked inside four walls to create new habits, adapting to a different rhythm. Whole cities have stopped, as if suspended in time.
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Hold Still is the title of a digital photo exhibition, a portrait of the pandemic in Great Britain in one hundred shots, on virtual display on the website of the National Portrait Gallery in London (Npg). The idea came from Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, amateur photographer and patron of the Npg, who last year invited everyone to send a photo taken during the first lockdown to have a visual documentation of a tragic and unique period in the life of the Country.
The only indication was that the image should fit into one of the three major themes: Heroes and Helpers; The new normal; and Acts of Kindness.
31 thousand photos sent
The invitation was enthusiastically welcomed by aspiring photographers of all ages, from 4 to 75 years old, and from every corner of Britain, who sent over 31,000 photos that told of their lockdown experience. The jury, chaired by the Duchess and NPG director Nicholas Cullinan, then selected the 100 best photos, which are visible on the site and have also been displayed on billboards in many British cities.