“My job is not to do advertising. My job is to create an authentic moment and hold up a mirror to society.” – Platon
Politicians, dictators, activists, Hollywood’s A-list — PLATON has photographed them all. As a photographer for TIME and The New Yorker, he created iconic portraits of figures such as Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, shaping the way we visually perceive power, public life, and humanity.
In this Artist Talk, the New York–based photographer of Greek heritage speaks about his encounters with the people in his images, his distinctive visual language, and the power of portraiture as a mirror of society.
The audience discussion will explore the stories behind the photographs in the exhibition PEOPLE POWER and the question of how images can make political and social debates visible — a special finale to the WestLicht anniversary weekend.
Platon was born in London in 1968 and spent part of his childhood in Greece. After studying at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art, he initially worked as an art director before dedicating himself entirely to photography in the late 1990s.
He gained international recognition through his award-winning portrait of Vladimir Putin for TIME magazine. His photographs have been used not only by the people he portrayed themselves, but also by opposition movements such as Pussy Riot and the LGBTQIA+ community — a sign of the sociopolitical impact of his work, which has established PLATON as one of the most influential portrait photographers of our time.
