Portrait of burns survivor wins Taylor Wessing prize

A portrait of a burns survivor gazing thoughtfully out of a window has won one of the world's most prestigious photography prizes.

- Nadia Khomami

The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) has named the Stockholm-based photographer Martina Holmberg as the winner of this year's £15,000 Taylor Wessing photographic portrait prize.

Holmberg's portrait, titled Mel, features the sitter appearing to be lost in a daydream, as cool light caresses her repaired skin.

When Mel was two, she and her sister were waiting for their mother in the car while she went to make a quick purchase at a convenience store. When she returned, the car was on fire. Mel's sister died, while Mel survived with severe burns.