Outlook Mixtape: A portrait of the artist

German artist Carlotta has a severe form of prosopagnosia, or face blindness, a brain disorder that means she can’t recognise faces, not even her own. Her condition went undiagnosed for years, and as a result Carlotta tried to avoid other people as much as she could. But she had always loved painting, and came up with a creative way of making self-portraits. It was through Carlotta’s art that neuroscientist and filmmaker Valentin Riedl came to meet her. After all these years seeking solitude, Carlotta agreed to work with Valentin and together they made a documentary called Lost in Face. They spoke to Emily Webb in 2020.

Margaret Keane was the artist behind the popular Big Eyes paintings of the 1960s, but her husband Walter Keane bullied her into letting him take the credit for them. He made millions of dollars from them, until Margaret took him to court to prove they were her own. In 2014, when she spoke to Outlook's Jo Fidgen, her story was made into a feature film by Hollywood director Tim Burton. Margaret died in 2022.

Paul Ninson grew up hearing traditional stories about Ghana's Ashanti people from his grandparents. He became a self-taught photographer, committed to capturing and preserving African culture. Determined to challenge the usual photographic stereotypes, he began with a project in a Kenyan village where no men are allowed.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Hetal Bapodra