1854 Media and the British Journal of Photography have announced the best portrait photographs of 2021. The 100 photographs in the competition trace the history of the United Kingdom over the past two years, bringing the camera closer to the eyes of so many of the key players in the fight against the virus and chronicling the social fabric of Britain in all its minorities.
The photos are symbolic of the pandemic and the lockdown, so among the portraits we see images of doctors, or children playing in the street surrounded by brick houses, a scene far removed from what we could see only a year ago. In a nation that is widely multicultural and diverse in terms of ethnicity and gender, Paralympic athletes, a little girl with her skateboard and even the face of Vivienne Westwood, a symbol of British fashion as well as an activist on the front line for years, appear among the photos of Portrait of Britain 2021.

England’s largest annual photography exhibition is also an event to showcase experiments in photographic technique, ranging from traditional portraiture to newer techniques.
“In a world fraught with division, portraiture is, in many ways, the ultimate act of collaboration. Perhaps portraiture cannot solve Britain’s identity crisis, but it can help us rejoice in the diversity of our people” said 1854. Precisely because the Portrait of Britain Winners 2021 photographs are a collective narrative, the shots will appear on special screens in airports, streets and train stations. 
A volume of all 100 winning photographs is also scheduled to be published by Hoxton Mini Press.