Every portrait begins with an encounter. Even if we only see the people portrayed - or merely traces of their presence - every picture is based on a moment that someone has seen, sensed, captured. This creates a dialogue that continues in the picture.
Portrait photography can do many things at the same time: it can tell and conceal, reveal and hide. The choice of framing is not a trick or manipulation, but part of the message: the power of photography lies precisely in its reduction. And then these pictures begin to speak. Not loudly, but forcefully.
The series and individual portraits in the tenth annual exhibition of the PORTRAITS - Hellerau Photography Award, which was launched in 2015, tell of the impositions and contradictions of an increasingly complex world. Those who approach them will not only see, but also hear: quiet resonances, inner tones. And echoes of truth.
