FT Seasonal Appeal: Mirror image

Nicola Benedetti, violinist

In an age obsessed with celebrity, where someone’s worth is gauged simply by their face being recognisable, I have often wondered how I could get through this layer of superficiality and find what lies beneath. If I could photograph what a person sees in the mirror, when they look at themselves unobserved, then maybe something more truthful, or genuine, might be revealed.

So I developed a simple device – a two-way mirror, surrounded by lights – which I could ask the subject to gaze into. I then photographed them from the other side of the glass, in effect making a photograph of how they look to themselves. Of course, the situation is contrived, but people relaxed.

The resulting portraits are taken from a selection of personalities who support Sightsavers, the FT’s chosen charity for our seasonal appeal. I hope that I have revealed, in some small way, a truth about them.

Beverly Knight, singer

Honor Blackman, actress

Wayne Hemingway, designer

Meera Syal, writer and actress

Alexander McCall Smith, novelist

The left-hand image of each pair is Charlie Bibby’s ‘mirror’ portrait

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Sightsavers aims to change the lives of some of the 39 million people in the world who are blind. The FT and Sightsavers are hosting a free photography exhibition at the Getty Images Gallery, 46 Eastcastle Street, London W1, to mark the launch of this year’s FT seasonal appeal.

The show, which is open to the public on November 29 (noon-5.30pm) and November 30 (10am-3pm), includes works by Charlie Bibby, Jane Bown, Matt Cardy, Tom Hunter, Eamonn McCabe and Martin Parr.

The FT will also hold an auction on November 30 of images kindly donated by these leading photographers.

For details of the restaurant auction in support of the appeal, see Dine with an FT writer.

Visit www.ft.com/appeal for more information.