When I perused over 'The Faceless Portrait' assignment there was one image that I could not get out of my head. On a recent visit to Pompei I knew that the body casts made from the victims of a volcanic eruption would be incredible and also quite harrowing. Treasured as a memorial to Vesuvius's 79AD explosion and a pathway into our history this figure is a permanent sign of the anguish suffered by an entire city, even though its face is featureless. What a compelling but faceless portrait.