A Very Long View

Tom Mosser created at least one self-portrait per day for the entire year of 2012 and continued to Feb. 10th of 2013 to create a total of 406 works.  Tom created the portraits using both hands alternately or at the same time.  He also created some using only the same hand.  Some of the works are quick studies while others are larger and more elaborate works. He is repeating the exercise in 2016.

And you can see some of Tom Mosser's portraits in the gallery on the right-hand side of this page.

Professor Alison Park is Director of the CLOSER (Cohort and Longitudinal Studies Enhancement Resources) programme, at the Institute of Education, University College London, through which she works to maximise the use, value and impact of the UK’s longitudinal studies. These are studies which follow the same people over a long period of time. Before joining UCL’s Institute of Education, Professor Park led a research team at NatCen Social Research, where she gathered information about the opinions and experiences of the British public. She is also interested in comparative survey research which shows how experiences and attitudes in the UK compare and contrast with those in other countries. 

Professor Eske Willerslev is a pioneer in the field of sequencing the genomes of ancient humans. He is director of Centre of Excellence in GeoGenetics and the National CryoBank and Sequencing Facility, situated at the National History Museum and the University of Copenhagen. He is also Prince Philip Professor of Ecology & Evolution at Cambridge University. In 2010 he sequenced the first ancient human genome. He has conducted the first large-scale multi-species ancient population genetic study, and established the field of environmental DNA, where modern and ancient DNA are obtained directly from environmental samples such as sediments, ice and water.

Alison Park suggests that we should make time to sort through the vast array of photo files on our digital devices, choose a small number for each year, print them out and put them in an album. So in years to come, when those devices are just a distant memory and we've all moved on to the next shiny new thing, we will still have that vital visual record of our past and where we have come from.

Photo: Shan Pillay