WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.407 --> 00:00:03.074 (gentle music) 2 00:00:08.030 --> 00:00:13.030 line:15% I'm Gill Hicks and I am the subject 3 00:00:13.130 --> 00:00:15.833 of this incredible portrait, 4 00:00:16.950 --> 00:00:20.330 I think, mainly because of what has led me 5 00:00:20.330 --> 00:00:22.033 to being a double amputee, 6 00:00:23.430 --> 00:00:27.250 which I lost both of my legs in a bombing, 7 00:00:27.250 --> 00:00:31.523 a suicide bombing in London in 2005. 8 00:00:32.690 --> 00:00:36.410 But I think perhaps, it's more than the event itself. 9 00:00:36.410 --> 00:00:40.720 I think it's, for me, what the photographer and artist 10 00:00:40.720 --> 00:00:44.950 wanted to capture was really the story of everything 11 00:00:44.950 --> 00:00:46.563 that's happened since. 12 00:00:50.040 --> 00:00:52.710 I've never been captured like that before. 13 00:00:52.710 --> 00:00:55.530 I'm always mentally busy 14 00:00:55.530 --> 00:00:57.320 and there's always something going on. 15 00:00:57.320 --> 00:01:01.664 And there was this capturing that I felt 16 00:01:01.664 --> 00:01:06.664 that Tony had actually just gone into my soul. 17 00:01:08.130 --> 00:01:13.130 And I've never seen that before because I look calm. 18 00:01:13.450 --> 00:01:16.293 I think there's a serenity about the picture. 19 00:01:20.420 --> 00:01:25.420 What I find extraordinary about capturing that serenity 20 00:01:25.450 --> 00:01:30.450 is that the picture was taken in an abandoned warehouse 21 00:01:31.520 --> 00:01:36.240 and there were rodents everywhere. 22 00:01:36.240 --> 00:01:37.680 And my little girl was there 23 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:40.140 so I was worrying about what she doing. 24 00:01:40.140 --> 00:01:41.593 Is she picking up anything? 25 00:01:42.730 --> 00:01:43.760 I was so worried. 26 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:46.071 And that I was laughing with Tony 27 00:01:46.071 --> 00:01:48.800 and everyone that was at the shoot. 28 00:01:48.800 --> 00:01:51.720 'Cause I just said, "Actually, I'm the only person here 29 00:01:51.720 --> 00:01:54.880 not worried about rodents because I've got prosthetic legs 30 00:01:54.880 --> 00:01:57.680 so I could be walking anywhere." 31 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:00.930 And so I still find it, 32 00:02:00.930 --> 00:02:05.660 given that I now know the panic of the light fading 33 00:02:05.660 --> 00:02:10.450 and the smells and the potential bites 34 00:02:10.450 --> 00:02:13.570 from a rat or a mouse, 35 00:02:13.570 --> 00:02:16.280 that there was this moment of calm 36 00:02:17.300 --> 00:02:19.500 and he's just captured that. 37 00:02:19.500 --> 00:02:24.500 And that to me is perhaps what I've wanted to say back 38 00:02:26.170 --> 00:02:27.853 that I could never put words to, 39 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:33.780 that I have found a peace within myself. 40 00:02:34.760 --> 00:02:38.070 And that peace within myself 41 00:02:38.070 --> 00:02:43.070 has come through not harbouring hatred or bitterness 42 00:02:43.340 --> 00:02:45.680 or seeking retribution. 43 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:50.427 And that peace that I think Tony's captured absolutely 44 00:02:52.210 --> 00:02:54.603 is about the love that I received. 45 00:03:00.970 --> 00:03:05.090 So one of the things that I have noticed, 46 00:03:05.090 --> 00:03:08.000 and what I love about looking at the portrait 47 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:11.720 is that it's borrowed a lot of the threads 48 00:03:11.720 --> 00:03:13.856 of my life, number one. 49 00:03:13.856 --> 00:03:18.300 And I've kept those threads in my life, number two. 50 00:03:18.300 --> 00:03:20.550 And one of the things that I smile about 51 00:03:20.550 --> 00:03:24.300 is that I used to wear all black in life, number one, 52 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:27.320 but I love that those threads are still there. 53 00:03:27.320 --> 00:03:28.820 I'm still wearing black. 54 00:03:28.820 --> 00:03:30.373 But I used to collect shoes. 55 00:03:31.720 --> 00:03:35.880 So for me, my new shoe obsession then became Converse. 56 00:03:35.880 --> 00:03:38.470 And so everything's Converse. 57 00:03:38.470 --> 00:03:41.378 I'm drawn to anything that's limited edition. 58 00:03:41.378 --> 00:03:43.720 Got to have the limited edition Converse. 59 00:03:43.720 --> 00:03:48.350 And, again, this lovely, 60 00:03:48.350 --> 00:03:51.370 I think, empowerment for me, 61 00:03:51.370 --> 00:03:53.270 that's what's been really important for me. 62 00:03:53.270 --> 00:03:57.240 So it's the fun and excitement of, yep, I wear Converse 63 00:03:57.240 --> 00:04:00.576 and here's my latest Converse 64 00:04:00.576 --> 00:04:03.840 and it just helps me keep going 65 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:08.840 and push through the days that are harder than others. 66 00:04:08.840 --> 00:04:09.690 And I loved it. 67 00:04:09.690 --> 00:04:11.300 One of the things that I got 68 00:04:11.300 --> 00:04:14.630 from the majority of the feedback of the portrait 69 00:04:14.630 --> 00:04:18.320 was that school kids were coming to see it, 70 00:04:18.320 --> 00:04:20.580 and the first thing they saw was Converse, 71 00:04:20.580 --> 00:04:22.550 and that was their connection. 72 00:04:22.550 --> 00:04:24.560 And I thought how wonderful 73 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:27.320 that there are these little sort of moments 74 00:04:27.320 --> 00:04:30.670 of different language, of layers of language, 75 00:04:30.670 --> 00:04:35.120 of which people can enter into a picture. 76 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:38.330 And that to me was one of the layers of language. 77 00:04:38.330 --> 00:04:40.033 So I loved it. I just loved it. 78 00:04:43.193 --> 00:04:45.860 line:15% (gentle music) 79 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:54.860 What I first got fitted for my set of legs, 80 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:57.017 I remember asking the consultant, 81 00:04:57.017 --> 00:05:01.910 "So could I be a lot taller than I was before?" 82 00:05:01.910 --> 00:05:03.440 And it's not encouraged, 83 00:05:03.440 --> 00:05:08.053 but I did manage to get quite a few inches of height.