Project 22 – the end?

As of the 22nd of June 2017, the photographic aspect of Project 22 came to a close.

For those who have met John, or have read or heard anything about Project 22, you will know that the number 22 has cropped up at various points in his life and holds a special significance to him. The project itself has been centred around the number, and it has been very much a numbers game – from the ambitious initial target of 2222 faces to photograph, to the £22 cost for a print of your face, with 22% being donated to the children’s charity, Lagan’s Foundation. 

But here are a few more numbers you may not have known about:

• 82 – the number of days John spent in the Bolton town centre based studio, photographing and entertaining the people that came to take part, from the 1st of March to the 22nd of June.

• 679 – the number of willing volunteers who heard of the project and came to take part. Each one signed a model release and leant their face to the cause.

• 41,000 – the number of images that John shot over this time period! This is the number I find most astonishing: 41,000 images that have had to be looked through, culled and then edited and cleaned up to John’s standard before they can be shown to the people to whom they belong.

• 44 – the number of days that the exhibition at the very heart of this project will run for, split into two lots of (yep, you guessed it) 22 days! The split allows John the chance to showcase as many images as possible, and leads us to our final number…

• 450 – roughly the number of prints that will be displayed during the exhibition, split across the 44 days.

I myself took part in the project, having seen it mentioned on a Facebook group for mums in Bolton. Using the booking system, I made an appointment on that same day and went along with my 15 month old daughter, Cate. I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive, especially as I was going alone (baby doesn’t count!) and I absolutely hate having my photo taken! In fact, I almost chickened out, especially as I wasn’t sure if I could bring the baby, but I’m glad that I didn’t. From the minute that I barged through the door with my pram, John was nothing but welcoming to both of us. I was rather nervous, and also a little on the shaky side as it was the day after the Manchester Arena bombing, but a quick chat and a bear hug later, and I was in front of the camera!

Being the good guy that he is, John also took a few moments to take a few shots of my daughter and I, and they are amazing. I fully intend to have more portraits done, especially as Cate gets older! He managed to perfectly capture her cheeky but loving nature, and I would wholeheartedly recommend all parents get professional pictures taken. In this age of technology, many of us will have a phone or digital camera full of images, but there’s nothing like a good old fashioned portrait hanging on the walls of your home.

The exhibition will launch as part of Manifest Arts Festival weekend and will be open 6^th July 6-8pm for the preview evening, and then 7^th July 9am-5pm and 8^th July 10am-2pm at The Gallery at St. George’s House. Following that, it will be available to view Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm. The changeover of images will take place on the 3^rd of August, with the second run of images being displayed from the 4^th of August to the 4^th of September.

I’ll see you there! Jenni (one of 679 faces)