Locals reflected in new exhibit

By Cristina Parry/Theo Chalmers
BBC Oxford/Photographer

Sir Ben Kingsley is famous for his Oscar-winning role in Gandhi

Theo Chalmers came to Oxford when he was three years old.

"I went to school here, I pretty much know all the back alleys... this is my place" he told us.

He was the perfect choice for an idea behind the new photographic campaign of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

Founded in 1683, it has been undergoing redevelopment and will reopen fully in November. The name of the forecourt exhibition is called "My Ashmolean, My Museum".

The idea came from the museum but it was brought to life by photographer Theo Chalmers: "The idea of the show is that hopefully there is something in it for everybody. You go in there and there is at least some person you might connect with."

Each portrait tells a unique story about the Ashmolean's renowned collections of art and archaeology and the sitter's relationship with the object. Theo hopes to chart a journey to show no matter what age or background you are you will find something to interest you.

There are the famous and well known; Ben Kingsley, Raymond Blanc, Phillip Pullman, but also people who make up the rich community of Oxfordshire. There are school children, bus drivers, teachers and medical students.

Theo is dyslexic and academia was always a struggle, but it could not stunt his creative nature. "Art was my strong point and I didn't get into trouble, I wasn't sent out of the room... dyslexia excludes you from quite a lot of stuff and art worked for me."

Radio presenter Bill Heine is also known for the "Headington Shark"

Becoming a photographer was something that he fell into rather than made a conscious decision to become.

"The only reference to photography in my history is a computer in general studies. We all had to fill in these multiple choice questions and you shove it through a computer and it comes out with four careers. I got window dresser and photographer, so perhaps it was pointing towards that sort of thing... it wasn't going to be neuro surgeon, that's for sure!"

His family encouraged him to make his artistic talent work for him rather than feel he was not a success at school. He found photography and much of his early work was still life because it didn't involve working with people. He found it the perfect way to tell people what was on his mind through images rather than words. He has since moved into fashion and portraits.

As his photography career has grown so has he both in confidence and as a person.

Schoolkid Luca Abarno also had his picture taken for the project

One commission has had a particularly strong affect on him. 'Paul's Place' is a disabled day-care centre in Bristol and they asked him to photograph them naked as a way of making themselves heard: "We have a lot of medicine in our family and I thought I was open minded about being accepting of all kids of disabilities. I got a big slap in the face when I went and worked with them because I wasn't as at ease as I presumed I might be.

"I think the pictures demonstrate my respect for people who are defiantly braver than me, and I wasn't trying to shock people but at the same time I wasn't trying to hide anything, and they weren't more importantly. These guys just changed me basically."

It is partly his free and creative approach to his subject matter that caught the eye of the Ashmolean. They were looking for someone to do something a little bit different, and the unconventional work Theo produced fit the bill.

Theo has come a long way from the awkward schoolboy and says it is great to be involved in the growth of Oxford. "I've been someone who has been on the outside of the academic world and Oxford is mostly famous for its huge university, so to be involved in its public face is very very exciting, and I feel quite honoured."

It would have been interesting to see a portrait of Theo himself, but what would it have included and how would it have fit in with his vision?

"Wow... There are too many to choose but I would certainly consider holding aloft the Italian Renaissance ceramic plate by Francisco Urbino because it's an unexpected hidden treasure and I love the unexpected, and 'I very much love not understanding art' would be written across my head. The place is full of seriously wonderful stuff. You have to see it to believe it... So go see it!"