UAL Photography Alumni Ruby Clarkson displays her work at The National Portrait Gallery!
UAL Extended Diploma in Photography alumna (2024) Ruby Clarkson is exhibiting her work at The National Portrait Gallery as part of photo project NOW, a collaboration with six universities and the National Portrait Gallery, which will be open to the public to view until September 2026.
“The opportunity to have my work displayed in the National Portrait Gallery came across by my university,” explains Ruby, “Portrait Now is a National Portrait Gallery partnership project with universities across England and Wales where myself and a few of my other peers were invited to create our own photographic portraits in response to the works and themes of the 2025 Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize.”
Ruby’s project explored a personal subject matter inspired by her mother. She said, “The work I submitted was one portrait of my mam. The reason why I photographed my mam is because I was wanting to raise awareness for the disability Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and how it affects many people in the world in many different ways, including my mam. The aim was to reveal physical symptoms she experiences, including numbness and tingling in her arms and legs, as well as persistent fatigue, which affects my mam on a daily basis.”
“The portrait on showcase in the NPG exposes a side of my mam that is often unseen by friends and family around her. Outwardly, she is lively, positive, and full of light and happiness; however, this image reveals the reality of her private struggle: the pain, exhaustion, and emotional weight she carries. During the photographic process with my mam, she shared several emotional reflections. One statement which made me feel emotional, and I think it would to others, is when my mam stated, ‘It’s losing your independence before your time. I hate it. I hate the way it makes me feel.’ These words show a profound sense of loss and frustration, which are central to the portrait, overall showing her hidden emotional struggle beneath my mam’s outward strength.”
When asked how she felt about her work being displayed, she said, “I was the only selected individual from my university, so I was unbelievably grateful and also speechless that my image was the one selected, as the emotional and personal connection I have to this work is very powerful, and I am beyond grateful other fantastic artists saw that emotion and strength.”
Ruby also took part in a panel discussion for the exhibition. She commented, “After I made my submission to the judges, I found out from my tutor Annie Ras that my image was selected to be printed in The National Portrait Gallery, and I was asked to be part of a panel discussion where, one by one, we spoke to a room of other artists and members of the public about our individual work being on display and asked a series of different questions about our work etc. This was nerve-wracking for me, as it was the first time doing something as big as this, but I am so proud to be given the opportunity to talk about my work as well as my overall practice.”
As well as taking part in the panel, Ruby was able to make connections with “some amazing students who were a part of the panel discussion who I now follow on social media. This has given me the confidence to start reaching out to artists and photographers I have followed for a long time and start connecting with them.”
Ruby studied our UAL Extended Diploma in Photography, graduating in 2024. When asked if her time on the diploma has positively impacted her progression, she said, “It taught me essential skills that I have been able to develop further within my practice. The help and support I received from my tutors Richard Allaway and Sarah Christie let me experiment with any idea that came to my mind, that is what I am most grateful for as they believed in me and that I could achieve anything I wanted to achieve.”
She said that studying on the diploma was “the best 2 years of my life. The skills, techniques, and friendships I have made from this course and school I will forever be grateful for, and The Northern School of Art will always truly feel like home to me.”
When asked what her advice for new students is, she said, “For all the new students starting out, some advice I would give to them would be: you will be scared, you have every right to be. The creative industry is tough; however, you will meet your community of people who will support you through thick and thin. And truly never give up on what you want to create, even if others think you shouldn’t. You are your own creator, so you go create art that inspires people across the world.”
Keep up to date with Ruby’s work on Instagram: @rubyclarksonnn
If you are a school leaver interested in photography and image making make sure you check out our UAL Extended Diploma in Photography today.
