Portrait of a Century

One Hundred Years. One Hundred Portraits. The story of Ireland from 1916 to 2015 told through the faces of its people.

Created by Kim Haughton - Portrait of a Century is a visual time capsule of one hundred images of people who are threaded together through a shared language, culture and nationhood. The exhibition features unique and timeless portraits reflecting one hundred years of Irish history.

A limited-edition book was created to accompany the exhibition. The book revealed the beautiful and rich diversity of Irish culture in this one project, connecting a young Irish person to a one born in 1916 along with others born during that timeline. This immense photography endeavor required a thoughtful interpretation.

The design was created to support the artists original concept, therefore this book needed to reflect the connection between the people featured in the work.

The mark 100 was created as a visual representation for the hundred portraits. 100 pieces were laser cut on the book sleeve to represent the impact that each person contributes to Irish society throughout their life, all connected with a laser engraved line.

This effect, on the wood and acrylic book sleeve, plays out furthermore on the embossed book cover effect.