Monday 23 May 2011

Paul Trevor: Like you've never been away- Walker Art Gallery

Paul Trevor came to Liverpool in 1975 and began documenting local life on the streets, in particular children growing up in almost poverty stricken areas of the city. These images to me, don't just capture the economic state of the city, but how the children deal with this way of life in such a positive way.

Trevor revisits the city in 2010 in hope of finding some of the children he once photographed, only to find out that one children has died of a drug overdose. I found the idea of trying to find the children quite endearing and interesting, as well as the stories that went with them.

The work also raises the issue of photographing children, as in todays society, it would be unacceptable to do what Trevor did. Which is a shame and a loss to the documentation of present children's upbringing around the city.

Bluecoat

Juergen Chill's Zellen series (2006- 2007) features prison cells in Germany, where it depicts inmates trying to individualize their environment through the arrangement of personal belongings. I love the idea of there being a presence felt in a bleak and solitude environment.

David Maisel's Library of Dust (2006) displays a series of jars which have become oxidized and began decaying. The oxidization of the copper jars has created beautiful colours and textures, which is similar to my interests in my car door metal series which I began the project looking at. As well as being visually interesting to look at, the jars also serve a purpose. They contain the cremated remains of psychiatric patients, who's remains we never collected by family or friends. This knowledge gives the viewer a chill, to their actually function which is something which I find interesting and similar to the ideas of Simon Norfolk i.e. beauty having a different side.

David Moore's 28 Days (2009) is a series of images taken in Paddington Police Station. The images give off an overwhelming feeling of confinement as well as patience emphasised by the cube shaped room, reminiscent of a cell. I found this really interesting how the environment in which you view the images, can help emphasise a feeling and create an atmosphere in an image.

The Attic: Collateral Damage- CUC

Whilst invigilating in the attic, I found I had time to go around the exhibition and explore some of the works on offer. I came across Simon Norfolk's 'Full Sprectrum Dominance' 2008 series and really enjoyed the artists exploration of the 'sublime' in landscapes.

The artist had decided to purposely separate the images, exploring the idea of "two realms in the passing from one to the next, the earthy and heavenly; and the missiles leaping across them."

I love the idea of movement by separating the two images- the first seems tranquil, it is only when you see the following image that you see something which is exploding. The idea of beauty having a potential to be something quite catastrophic and destructive.

Saturday 21 May 2011

Look11

Started my first day volunteering for Look11 on Thursday and really enjoyed it. I started off invigilating at the CUC and then moved around different gallery spaces trying to engage with the audience and asking them to give their feedback on the events. Most of the responses seemed to be that they didn't know anything about other events, which is surprising considering how much advertising there has been, so the plan was to try and explain as many of the events to people as possible.

It also gave my an opportunity to speak to other photographers and try to network, by handing out my presentation cards which seemed to go down quite well. I feel that this is something really exciting to be involved in and look forward to the up and coming events.

Saturday 30 April 2011

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hannaaaahh/3309188681/lightbox/

I found this gallery online and found that I share similar tastes and interests with the artist, well worth a look...

Look11

Cropping the image