Pamela Punshon, Grace (PORTRAIT 2023)

Grace Grace, the light of our life. Grace, dancing to her own tune. Grace, a picture of elegance and independence. Grace is my neighbour. She is four years old. She rarely communicated with me other than a long solemn stare which said, ‘who are you and what do you want?’ As the seasons passed in our area, the leaves on the trees fell and I got a glimpse into Grace’s world as I walked down my stairs and I saw her, playing on her own with her dog and dressed in a gorgeous red tutu. I wanted to photograph that image, but it was passing and gone in a flash. The seed had been planted and so I approached Grace’s mother and asked if they would consider a photoshoot. I mentioned a tutu. They arrived with two tutus’ but not the red one. As I took some photos, Grace’s mum realised I had planned the shoot for a red tutu as I had made a red headpiece. She mentioned that Grace had an old torn play tutu, but it was red, would I like to try that one? The result, as they say, is history. We had the most delightful thirty minutes – that was as-long-as I could hold her attention, but the results were wonderful. When Grace saw me the next week, I was her new best friend, and the chatter was non-stop. Why else would we put ourselves out there and approach relative strangers for a photograph?

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