How a St. John’s-based photographer and her unlikely muse captured worldwide consideration
It is a {photograph} — of a person with an extended, white beard sporting a fur coat — that nearly resembles a Seventeenth-century portray.
When photographing her topic within the award-winning portrait The Duke, photographer Ting Ting Chen mentioned her aim was to realize the sensation of a Rembrandt portray by way of images.
The method was made simpler, she mentioned, due to her emotional bond with the person in entrance of the digicam — her pal and inventive muse, Robert Tilley.
“I might take photographs of many different topics or many different folks, however Robert impressed me loads as a result of I believe he appears very particular in entrance of a lens,” mentioned Chen, a photographer and pupil at Memorial College who’s initially from China.
Chen’s photograph of Tilley gained gold within the 2020 Budapest Worldwide Foto Awards and was the general winner within the non-professional class (single picture) of the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, a global images award for ladies photographers. The award gave her the prospect to exhibit her photographs from Newfoundland and Labrador in Barcelona’s FotoNostrum gallery.
Tilley, who’s from Newfoundland, has now had his portrait seen by folks world wide. Above all else, he says he is impressed by what his good pal can do with a digicam.
“The images themselves, I believe are actually good photos, whether or not they be me or anybody,” mentioned Tilley. “I must applaud her functionality of doing the images.”
An unlikely duo
Earlier than transferring to Newfoundland 5 years in the past to pursue a PhD in folklore, Chen, 36, says she met Tilley on Fb. She says she knew Tilley as a pal of Philip Hiscock, a professor in Memorial College’s folklore division.
However what was initially a Fb contact quickly turned a real-life pal and inventive inspiration, says Chen.
When she arrived in Newfoundland, she linked with Tilley in particular person and he gave her a tour of his residence in Brigus South, as effectively his different place in Elliston. Ultimately, Tilley and his spouse invited Chen to spend the summer time with them in Brigus in 2018.
“That’s really the start of my journey round Newfoundland,” mentioned Chen. “Not each Fb pal turned out to be actual good associates in actual life, so I really feel fortunate, I really feel lucky that I could make a very good pal right here.”
Chen says she obtained into images significantly solely when she moved to Newfoundland so she’s grateful to have gained worldwide awards so early in her images profession. However Tilley’s attraction in entrance of the digicam, in addition to his personal life experiences, make it simpler to seize pictures crammed with tales, she mentioned.
The story behind the photograph
When Tilley, 74, confirmed Chen his properties in each Brigus South and Elliston, he says he wasn’t simply displaying her the place he lived, but in addition inviting her into locations which have deep connections to his household’s historical past.
The Duke is known as after Tilley’s grandfather, whose full identify was William Marmaduke Tilley. She says the identify additionally completely captures the historic temper of the photograph.
Within the portrait, Tilley is sporting a fur vest he made round 40 years in the past when he labored in northern British Columbia.
“I purchased a wolf pores and skin, I assume from a fellow up north, and I obtained some leather-based and put it collectively as a little bit of a joke to be used as a vest after I headed south to San Francisco a really very long time in the past,” mentioned Tilley. “Everyone was presupposed to look cool in these days.”
However The Duke is not the one photograph Chen has taken of her pal. She’s photographed Tilley in quite a few tremendous artwork portrait collection, together with her collection Pores and skin to Pores and skin, which she says explores the bonds between folks and locations.
“When the viewers appears on the photos, I need them to really feel this isn’t solely a handsome image, however I additionally need them to really feel the emotional bond between the photographer and a topic,” mentioned Chen. “I believe that is a necessary half in my images.”
Subsequent steps
After The Duke was chosen because the winner within the non-professional class of the Julia Margaret Cameron awards, Chen was supposed to just accept the prize in particular person in Spain.
Chen says she was sadly unable to journey to Spain as a result of points together with her visa, as she shouldn’t be a Canadian citizen and is simply in a position to stay within the province as a result of a examine allow.
Regardless of some setbacks, the photographer says her journey is much from over. She says she hopes she will go to Spain finally, however that she additionally needs to proceed exploring Newfoundland and Labrador together with her muse Tilley by her facet.
“I believe this sort of a collaboration or friendship is a bit particular,” mentioned Chen.
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