Margaret Mitchell
We are just so thrilled to feature the works of Margaret Mitchell. Margaret is an accomplished, prolific, documentary and portrait photographer living in Scotland. Her works look into the communities and children’s experience by developing detailed documentary projects focusing on societal issues regarding inequality and environment. Her works have been exhibited in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, National Portrait Gallery, London, FORMAT International Photography Festival, just to mention a few.
The Guisers
I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with Margaret’s works when I was a juror with United Photo Industries, The FENCE, and was drawn to her point of view straight away. The Guisers is one of many remarkable projects Margaret has developed. Given that I’m so often drawn to a child’s perspective in things I was taken with this project in particular. In the Guisers we find kids dressed in their disguises to participate in what we in the US refer to as trick or treat on Halloween. (Halloween ‘trick or treating’ was brought to America by immigrants from Celtic regions) These young ones in their fine costumes are haunting not because they are scary and hilarious but because somehow Margaret is able to capture a little piece of personality, personhood in disguise, in each child. As I’m looking at these somewhat startling, joyful and at times a bit disturbing portraits of these young ones I cannot help but want to know more about each child and the thinking behind the costume choices. These portraits shot in a space that reminds me of my grade school theatre. Beautiful! A thoughtful pensive Frankenstein’s monster, a bloodied walk of shamer. A serious woodsman of sorts, a purple something. Terrifying zombie school girl. Odd, I’m not sure what they are creatures. I feel, looking at these images that there’s an innocence here that makes me take pause to think about what scares us most these days.
Happy Halloween!
-Steven Duede, Fine Art Photography/Mixed Media, Aspect Gallery Principal.
Some children offered me information on who they were and why they chose to dress as such - a Victorian gentleman who liked to speak 18th Century English. Others kept their motivations to themselves – I am ‘Untitled’ said one boy with a bloody skeleton arm hanging off and bandages from injuries.
The Guisers
GUISER, n. "in modern times one of a party of children who go in disguise from door to door at various festivals, esp. Halloween
- from a Dictionary of the Scots Language.
In Scotland, Guisers go round neighbours' doors on Halloween during a night of community and sharing. This centuries old tradition was taken to North America by immigrants from various Celtic origins and with other cultural influences became the American ‘trick or treat’.
Over five Halloweens (2015-19), I photographed children who visited my home as Guisers. Their highly individual costumes displayed not only their originality but also conveyed aspects of the inner world of the child. Principally, this work looks at the complexity of being a child as presented through their chosen costume - their disguise - and is a portrait of these children at this specific time, within this ongoing tradition in Scotland.
Some children offered me information on who they were and why they chose to dress as such - a Victorian gentleman who liked to speak 18th Century English. Others kept their motivations to themselves – I am ‘Untitled’ said one boy with a bloody skeleton arm hanging off and bandages from injuries.
Some children took their influences from popular culture whilst others created mash ups of fantasy play. Costumes ranged from the elaborate to the expected and this multiplicity of choices in selecting their disguise offers insight into the intricacy of experience within their childhood world. The Guisers allow us briefly back into a child’s mind as they roam the streets on Halloween, dressed as someone else, being someone else.
-Margaret Mitchell
The project has 100 images in total.
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell is a Scottish documentary and portrait photographer whose work ranges from exploring communities and children’s worlds through to long-term documentation projects on environment, opportunity and social inequality.
Her photography explores the intricacies and complexities of people’s lives with a particular emphasis on place and belonging. Responsibility, dialogue and collaboration are key components in her approach.
Mitchell is the recipient of a number of awards including within the Sony World Photography Awards and The Royal Photographic Society’s IPE160. Work has been exhibited widely including at the National Portrait Gallery, London; FORMAT International Photography Festival, Derby; Festival Circulation(s), Paris; Somerset House, London; the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh and Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow;
Alongside working on personal projects, clients include the Guardian, Shelter, Telegraph magazine and CNN. Her work is held in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland.