A photo of Reading Gaol taken by a Caversham man has won a national art award.

‘Indoor Rainbow’ taken by Matt Emmett, 50, shows the vacant prison lit up by a rainbow created by alarms and electrical lights in the building.

After leaving his camera on a long exposure in a room which was pitch black to the human eye, Matt returned to find an image which he said looks like a tribute to Oscar Wilde.

“When the picture appeared on the back of the camera I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe the amount of light that was in the shot,” said Mr Emmett who has photographed architecture for the last ten years.

“It was a eureka moment.”

Reading Chronicle: ‘Indoor Rainbow', taken by Matt Emmett from Caversham of Reading Gaol which has won the Forgotten Heritage Visual Art Open 2021‘Indoor Rainbow', taken by Matt Emmett from Caversham of Reading Gaol which has won the Forgotten Heritage Visual Art Open 2021

The image also caught the eye of judges at the Forgotten Heritage Visual Art Open 2021, where he beat competition from other photographers as well as traditional art mediums.

Mr Emmett said the rainbow, also a symbol of LGBTQ+ rights, looked like a small tribute to Oscar Wilde, who was imprisoned there for two years for his sexuality.

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The future of the prison is uncertain, with MP Matt Rodda calling for it to be turned into an arts hub.

In a letter to Justice Minister Dominic Raab, Matt Rodda said: “There is significant support to redevelop the site and use it for the arts and heritage because of its connection to Oscar Wilde and because it is the burial place of King Henry I, whose tomb is believed to sit among the ruins of Reading Abbey beneath the gaol.”

Earlier this month it emerged that mystery figures from the arts world could be set to donate millions of pounds to back the campaign to save the building.

It is the same historical significance which drew Mr Emmett’s attention.

Read more: Reading amateur who picked up camera in lockdown becomes Historic Photographer of the Year

“I like old building’s, that’s my thing, so any opportunity I get I jump at the chance.”

He added: “Photography doesn’t normally do that well in art awards but I think because of the way it was taken, that’s probably helped it.

“I was gobsmacked.”