2023 Portrait Series

Former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, a Republican, spent almost 30 years in the Arizona Legislature, but after he refused pressure from Trump to overturn the state’s election results and testified before the Jan. 6 committee, he lost re-election. “I knew that there's gonna be a payment for this,” he said. Bowers says he would never vote for Trump again. “I think I have enough moral responsibility in me still to say, ‘I cannot condone this.’ … I'm hopeful that our country can say we're tired of this drama.” Bowers sat for a portrait on the floor of the Arizona House in Phoenix, AZ in September 2022.

Ruby Freeman had her “life turned upside down” when Trump and his supporters targeted her with a baseless election conspiracy theory that has been debunked. The Georgia election worker recounted in emotional testimony before the committee the racist comments and death threats she received and her fear of being recognized in public. Freeman said in a video aired by the committee that at one point she had to leave her house for two months after the FBI warned her it might not be safe. Freeman sat for a portrait in Washington, DC in June 2022.

Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) joined the Jan. 6 committee with a lot of experience investigating Trump. As the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, he was part of the congressional investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and a manager in both of Trump’s impeachment trials. But the Jan. 6 committee was “very different,” saying their hope was to present the “definitive account” of Jan. 6, to make it clear that it was “not a day in isolation.” Schiff sat for a portrait in the US Capitol in September 2022.

Former White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews told the nation about her decision to resign from the White House on Jan. 6 in response to then-President Donald Trump’s inaction in the wake of the attack on the Capitol. Matthews has “no regrets” about her decision to resign — or to testify about it publicly, but says it wasn’t without consequences. “I lost a lot of friendships,” Matthews said. “But I guess this is something that I'm willing to draw a line in the sand and say, ‘I won't tolerate this.’” Matthews sat for a portrait in Washington, DC in October 2022.

Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn became an outspoken advocate for the officers who responded to the January 6th, 2021 attack on the Capitol, having himself been subject to racist attacks by rioters that day. “My ultimate goal is accountability,” Dunn said of his testimony before the House January 6th Committee’s very first hearing in 2021. Dunn was one of a group of officers who attended all of the hearings the Committee held, sitting in the front row. Officer Dunn sat for a portrait in the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC in July 2022.

Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) was “angry” on Jan. 6, but when he realized that night that most of his colleagues weren’t, he was outraged. It was that anger that propelled him to join the Jan. 6 committee, one of just two Republicans to do so. “It's not that we're courageous. We're really not,” he said of himself and Cheney. “It's that cowardice is everywhere…I know my kid, I know this, he will be proud to have the last name. And a lot of my colleagues will have kids that'll be ashamed of them.” Rep Kinzinger sat for a portrait in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC in September 2022.

Former Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell was assaulted while responding to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and has since been forced to retire as a result of his injuries. “People need to understand that this could happen again,” Gonell said while sitting on the steps where he was assaulted by rioters on that day, “The threats to our democracy and to this building have only increased since January 6.” He was one of four officers who then testified before the House Jan 6 Committee’s very first hearing who had since made it a point to attend all the subsequent hearings, listening to the testimony and exhibits from the front row. Gonell sat for a portrait in the US Capitol Building in July 2022.

Rep Elaine Luria (D-VA) knew that being a part of the House January 6th Committee could affect her ability to get reelected in a tight midterm race. “I'm the only Democrat representing a Republican district,” Luria said, “So I'm very well aware going into it that I could go home, and perhaps this would be unpopular.” Luria lost, but she has no regrets. “I can sleep at night,” she said. “I know I'm on the right side of history, and I'm OK with that.” Rep Luria sat for a portrait in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC in July 2022.

Video of Metropolitan Police Officer Hodges being crushed against a door while defending the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 went viral and became a visual representation of the physical cost of the attack. “How often does someone like me get a chance to put their finger on the scale of history and…let everyone know what really happened,” he said of testifying before the House January 6th Committee. Officer Hodges sat for a portrait in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC in August 2022.

Former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was dragged out of the Capitol and assaulted by rioters during the January 6th, 2021 attack on the Capitol, has become an outspoken critic of Republican lawmakers who he says contributed to the sentiments that led to the attack. He testified before the House January 6th Committee, saying he wanted to see accountability. “Some people only understand accountability” Fanone said, “Which is really just a euphemism for, some people only understand getting punched in the face. And Donald Trump needs to get punched in the face.” Fanone sat for a portrait in the US Capitol Building in August 2022.

Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban have banned women from sports as well as barring them from most schooling and many realms of work. A number of women posed for the photographer for portraits with the equipment of the sports they loved. Though they do not necessarily wear the burqa in regular life, they chose to hide their identities with their burqas because they fear Taliban reprisals and because some of them continue to practice their sports in secret.

An Afghan women's soccer team poses for a photo in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022.

Afghan women who practice Muay Tha, or Thai boxing, pose for a photo in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022.

An Afghan woman who practices jiujitsu, a Japanese martial art, poses with a sledgehammer she uses for strength exercises in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022.

Afghan woman boxer poses for a photo in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022.

An Afghan volleyball player poses for a photo in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022.

An Afghan girl who practices taekwondo poses for a photo in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 31, 2022.

Afghan mixed martial arts fighter poses for a photo with her trophies in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 31, 2022.

Afghan girls who practice wushu, a Chinese martial art, pose for a photo in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022.

An Afghan girl poses with her skateboard in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022.

An Afghan woman poses for a photo with her bicycle in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.