King's College London

The project can be viewed in its entirety online here.  A selection of the portraits are installed in the East Wing of Somerset House, alongside a specially curated series of images and texts related to the exhibition. 

Eileen Perrier, a photographer who has previously worked with Tate Modern and The Photographers’ Gallery, was commissioned for the project. She shot the portraits with a Hasselblad camera, framing them in the medium’s classic aspect ratio. Everyone who took part in the project was also interviewed. Using these conversations, brief texts were written to accompany the portraits, describing each featured person’s relationship to the School. This combination of portraiture and narrative is designed to articulate the complex diversity that constitutes the School’s global community. 

One major theme that quickly became apparent, even in the project’s early stages, was how the School’s progressive sense of inclusivity has allowed students to thrive. This was as true for those who studied here in the 1950s as it was for those who have only recently arrived, irrespective of whether they were born in the United Kingdom, or in places as diverse as Nigeria, Colombia, Hong Kong or Iraq. 

In celebrating the achievements of our alumni, students and staff from a diverse array of backgrounds, the School is working in support of the university’s Race Equality Charter Mark. Creating a space for an open dialogue between the School and its wider community is central to tackling prejudice and perceived barriers. The project functions, not just as an opportunity for individuals to tell their personal stories, but also for an understanding of the School’s collective identity that goes beyond categories of gender, race and ability. 

Portraits of a Global Law School is permanently displayed on level -1 in Somerset House East Wing. 

Credits  

• Martin Abrams (Install) 
• Alyssa Martin (Senior Alumni International Officer, King's College London) 
• Kieran McGrath (Producer/Writer) 
• Eileen Perrier (Photographer) 
• Professor Elaine Player (Academic Lead, The Dickson Poon School of Law)
• Michael Regan (Install) 
• Shaun Stamp (Install) 
• Leonie Taylor (Senior Communications Officer, The Dickson Poon School of Law) 
• Adam Tupper (Project Manager) 
• Lynn Yeo (Designer)