This project has been three years in the making and while it is not directly related to “The Last Portrait” project, it works in a similar vein. Allow me to explain…

I gave people the option of making a portrait of me. They could pose me as they wanted, dress me (or not) as they wanted, and frame it as they wanted.

The only guidelines were:

1 – It had to be in my “black box” studio

2 – It couldn’t have any other people in it who were recognizable.

More explaining.

I wanted people to work with a uniformity of space. They had roughly 10×12 feet to work with and we could bring anything we wanted into it, but otherwise we were working with at least one controlled factor. (This was also necessary to keep costs and logistics down such that we weren’t flying off to some foreign destination.)

I also wanted to see what and how people would interpret the project. Would they create their idea of me? Would I just be a muse or model for something unrelated? How daring would they be in their requests?

I made a point to stay out of the creative process as much as possible so as not to influence the outcomes. The project served as a great challenge for some as I had several people who were willing to participate but were not able to come up with any ideas. I invite them (and all of you) to participate if inspiration ever strikes.

This project is ongoing, so anyone who would want to participate from here on out is more than welcome to contact me to create an entry for the gallery. Likewise those in the gallery may at any point do a reshoot.

It is my hope that this project will one day have a minimum of 100 images, but so long as I’m able and people are willing I’d like to keep it as a living and breathing project.

And now…at long last…I present “Portrait of Mike.”

Mike Potts
13 March 2023

(All images were shot and edited my me EXCEPT for the one by “Heather M” which was shot and edited by Myers Photography.)