Ethan Joseph
Robert took this photo of me at home, in front of the big white wall in the kitchen my parents have never managed to fill. At first it felt like a slightly strange choice of setting: why not in the Hall, or on the Great Lawn with the Library in the background? However, thinking about it now, sitting for a portrait at home feels sensible when the alternative was a place that can often feel dwarfing in scale. I think that, after three years in St John’s, I’ve got over that as much as anyone can. If I’ve left any sort of legacy, I hope that it’s making that process easier for students who don’t see themselves represented here.
Although we didn’t use them, Robert took some portraits in the park next to my house as well, in front of the lake where I used to watch the swans. That was funny, standing where the five-year-old me used to stick his crumb-covered fingers through the fence and get bitten by the swans. I suppose if I think back to that child and compare him to myself now, I do feel a degree of pride. Three years of self-improvement or three years of self-sacrifice. Who can say?