Shazad

It's been a bit of a shock to the system being back in the office. My head is certainly a lot clearer than when I left but it's still been a struggle. I'm hoping that in a few more days I will get back in some kind of groove.

I saw Shazad here sitting talking with a friend. I don't normally interrupt people who are chatting away but he looked like an interesting guy and he was very animated as he spoke. I soon became aware of just how animated! Being born in Bradford, Shazad thinks of himself very much as British, a British Muslim. He was very passionate and articulate about his religion, but clearly holds a lot of frustration and even anger around what he sees as misrepresentation and prejudice. I can appreciate why.

When it comes to people with strong religious views I have learned to simply listen. And I did a lot of listening to Shazad! He had an intensity about him which was very fascinating. He made me think about preconceptions. When someone looks me in the eyes I tend to think that they see the same 'me' that everyone else sees, the same 'me' that I recognise myself as me. But who was Shazad seeing with this intense gaze? And who are you seeing in this shot?

It is impossible to know the extent to which our preconceptions (dare I say prejudices?) inform our perception of people. One of the great rewards of my portrait project is getting to talk to people I would not otherwise create an opportunity to meet. Even when the talking consists more of a lecture than a conversation I invariably come away with a positive experience.