Cunningham’s series of portraits is constituted by an impressive number of drawings. Hundreds of different faces, each unique and recognisable, is presented in a continuous stream. Including generally the figures’ busts, focusing on hairstyles and clothing as well as facial characteristics, each portrait is individual, exuding personality and emotion despite their diminutive size. Potentially inspired by Cunningham’s experience of London as a crowded, multi-cultural environment, these figures seem almost like spectres haunting his production of drawings, reminding viewers of the rich variety of lives he observed in the animated urban space he inhabited.

The act of portraying the likeness of those around us is perhaps one of the most ancient forms of art. Portraiture is not only a means to record someone’s appearance, but also a way of exploring how to represent three-dimensional features in two dimensions, as well as how to convey emotions and individuality through them. They allow artists to explore the realities of human condition, to express their ideas, emotions and concerns about corporeality. Historically, portraits have shown importance, virtue, wealth and power. They can be flattering, idealised, blunt, truthful, grotesque or satirical.

If well-known artists of the second half of the 20th century, such as Francis Bacon or Lucian Freud, employed contorted facial expressions and exaggerated features, such as large mouths and hollowed eyes, to convey psychological angst, Cunningham’s portraits tend to be less emotionally intense. They are animated and psychologically insightful, summarising in few restrained ink strokes a full sense of emotion and personality.

This is not to say that all the individuals portrayed in this series represent real people whom Cunningham might have seen or met. A number of these drawings, for instance, seem to be characterised to varied extents by fantastical, imaginative elements. Striking, in this sense, are the full figures of bodies dressed in period clothing, resembling antique fashion sketches. And yet, the long progressions of veiled women or of people of colour seems particularly reminiscent of the multiracial population of South London. Either a reflection or society or creative visions emanating from the artist’s mind, these drawings are capable to encapsulate such diverse meanings through their quick yet precise lines, allowing viewers to fill in the gaps, as it were, allowing an ulterior space for fantastical invention.

Portraits, in general, are about the possibility of knowing the other. They all include an element of projection, which encompass not only viewer and image, but also the artist, because it was through his eyes and hand motions that images are generated. Part of a complex three-way system, the images of this series rely on the ability of viewers to empathise with the faces they see and to infer meanings from the sharp, linear strokes that compose them.

In this series, Cunningham employed his formidable observational ability and combined it with his imaginative skills to produce forms that fascinate viewers with their endless potential for emotive communication. Through minimal, reductive ink strokes Cunningham was able to replicate intimate moods and visual truths, opening the door to the inner lives of countless individuals, be they real, imaginary, or a mix of both. Thin dark lines become flesh, fabric, hair, constructing fleeting yet powerful fractions of everyday, unfiltered lived experiences.