Exhibition: tenants and their housing officers

Artist Polly Nuttall painted Michael together with Sandrine (next). “The opportunity to paint a diverse and interesting group of people challenges our ideas of who is entitled to be the subject of a portrait, regardless of age, gender or race,” Nutall says. “Sandrine invited Michael to the office to be photographed and this is partly why these two paintings are perhaps the most obvious pair. In all my work I strive to capture that which silently unites us, common shared unspoken experiences that are stronger than our apparent differences. Illustration: Polly Nuttall/Notting Hill Housing Group

“I met Sandrine in the lobby of the housing trust’s offices just as she was signing off with her guardian, the mobile system that tracks staff as they visit the tenants that they are responsible for, a reminder to me how challenging and potentially dangerous their role can be,” she says. Illustration: Polly Nuttall/Notting Hill Housing Group

“Sura is a great mix of regal elegance and pragmatic kindness,” says Nuttall. “Sura took me to meet Mrs Bett in her flat in the very cold weather of the 2010/11 winter.” Illustration: Polly Nuttall/Notting Hill Housing Group

“We were both bundled up in massive black duvet coats and sat in front of Mrs Bett seated on her sofa with a sunshine yellow throw over her lap. Sura was so practical and kind, it was an example of all the Notting Hill Housing Trust roles in action – not only housing but also caring for the other needs of individual tenants.” Sadly, Eileen Bett passed away during the project. Illustration: Polly Nuttall/Notting Hill Housing Group

Nuttall asks her subjects not to smile, to unmask the person underneath. “Photographing Cordelia for her portrait was a challenge because she would not stop smiling,” she says. “The open expression allows us, the viewer, to begin a conversation with the painting. She was, I think, six months pregnant with her first child and her enthusiasm for her personal project was infectious.” Illustration: Polly Nuttall/Notting Hill Housing Group

“I met Jayne sometime after completing the portrait of Cordelia, her housing officer.” Nutall describes Cordelia as “strikingly pretty”, and warm. “She worked as a drug and alcohol counsellor before retiring, though she hardly seems retirement age - as she can still turn heads. I am very grateful to her, and all the other people that took part in the project, for allowing me to photograph them and then give me total control of their image.” Illustration: Polly Nuttall/Notting Hill Housing Group

Nuttall photographed Lyron for his portrait in Hammersmith. “For someone so young he has natural authority and a stillness that lent itself so well to the portrait process,” she says. Lyron suggested the artist also paint Susan. Illustration: Polly Nuttall/Notting Hill Housing Group

Susan invited Nuttal into her house, where the pair swapped parenting stories. “A painting invites the viewer to look longer and reflect on the subject where a photograph only gives so much - just a moment that has been captured,” reflects Nuttall. Illustration: Polly Nuttall/Notting Hill Housing Group