Talking at PBLabs #7 Tonight

Looking forward to meeting Bristol Photo Folk tomorrow night.

Apocalypse Portuguese Style

Costa by José Pedro Cortes is a book of bleak costal landscapes based around Costa da Caparica, a town south of Lisbon. It's a book of such barren sand, worn interiors and low grade vegetation, that it makes a day trip Weston-Super-Mare in February in the rain look like a right, rare old treat.

There are so many different kinds of Scrub, Edgelands, Terrain Vague and Third Landscapes that exist that I'm not quite sure where Costa fits into all this. Perhaps it goes into an apocalyptic sub-category where all life (except for that of a snake and some dusty palm trees) has been eliminated.

That's probably the case because Costa looks like something from The Road - there are footprints in lunar-like sand, but in terms of human inhabitation that's about it. The people have left town and are notable by their hurried absence. And if there are any people around then, as in the Road, you would probably want to avoid them. Everything that could be inhabited is falling apart, it's run ragged by the sea and the sand and the wind. Awnings are frayed, beach huts stripped of paint and everything is covered in a thick patina of dust.

Even the rocks look worn out. Defeated by the climate and the heat, they are mere shadows of rocks, rocks without solidity or soul. How did all this happen? Why the long face? Well that's the puzzle and that's the book.

Buy it here at  Pierre von Kleist Editions

Michele Cera's Dust

Dust by Michele Cera is a series of landscape photographs, almost all of which feature a human somewhere in the scene and quite a lot of dust. The pictures are from Albania (where Cera's grandfather was stationed during the Second World War) and are a recreation of an Italy that Cera imagines existed after the war (an Italy that Cera saw in Italian cinema from that time).

It's not an idealised Italy that Cera imagines. It's an Italy in torpor, an Italy emptied of people. And the same goes for the Albania he photographs; it's a precarious Albania where people wait by dusty roadsides and stand by half-finshed construction sites - all the locations are in between and the things that people do are in between as well. People talk on phones, or hang around billiard halls, we pass from the empty cities to the empty countryside, and all the time there is a sense lethargy about the place, that whatever is happening is happening somewhere else.

Which perhaps sums up the dissatisfaction of the human condition, that we must always be restless and look elsewhere for our livelihood or our fun, that happiness can never be truly attained except somewhere else, that there is always more to be consumed, experienced, seen or photographed. Ah, that's the photographic condition isn't it, the all-consuming all-seeing nature of photography that we imagine exists but doesn't really exist. So perhaps I could take Dust as an antidote to that kind of photographic desire; as a call to sit back and enjoy life while the sun shines - and the sun shines a lot in Albania! I don't think that's what it's about at all, but it seems to fit

Encounter, Destroy and Rebuild the Landscape: Stefan Vanthuyne

'After it is gone, the landscape appears'

That quote by Yutaka Takanashi is the inspiration for Stefan Vanthuyne's book, The Hill that Wasn't. Takanashi believed that the landscape photographer has the metaphorical power to encounter, destroy, rebuild and release the landscape; to shape the landscape into his/her own image. 'Therein lies the the pursuit of a new "landscape"; the landscape of the photograph, the landscape of the haiku,' writes Vanthuyne in his intro to the book.

So The Hill that Wasn't is about finally coming to see this small, unspectacular hill through photography. It's a modest and elegant book. The pictures are low contrast images of the scrub on the hillside - they're printed onto white paper folded and stapled into a modest accordion with a couple of pages stapled in. On the screeprinted cover there's a picture of a tree next to the hill, a very modest hill, more of a hillock really, a baby hill, a hill that isn't.

It's a remarkably familiar hill compete with grass, wildflowers and teasels. It's a universal landscape that is recognisable to almost anyone anywhere who has ever taken the time to glimpse at the slightly pointless landscape around them - and realise that actually it's not that pointless at all. I suppose it could be a kind of Edgelands book, but it's more soulful and affectionate than that.

Buy the book here.

This is how Vanthuyne describes the design of the book which was designed by Jurgen Maelfeyt and Theophile Calot:

All I did was ask them to create a book that would recreate what I did: see the hill (the 

cover), approach it (open the book) and investigate/walk around it (design of the booklet).

And by doing so it became a new landscape - the Takanashi reference. 

APE is really good at this.

"What's your favourite biscuit, Paul Gaffney and Michal Iwanowski?"

pictures above by Paul Gaffney and Michal Iwanowski

A few weeks back, Paul Gaffney invited me to be in conversation with him for his exhibition at ffotogallery in Penarth. I thought, "well I've never done this sort of thing before but sure why not". I thought there would be one man and his dog and a couple of grizzled landscape photographers, maybe a stray unwashed, documentary photography student who had wandered over from Newport. I thought of this and looked forward to asking questions like "What snacks did you eat on your walk, Paul? What's your favourite biscuit? If you were a biscuit, what biscuit would you be?"

But then I remembered that it was the Paul Gaffney whose first book was the fantastic "We Make the Path by Walking" and I thought, ah no, I can't do that, it might be quite busy. And then Paul told me that it was a double show and that Michal Iwanowski would be there showing his Clear of People - his retreading of his grandfather's 2,200 kilometre journey from a Russian Gulag to Poland back in 1945.

So it wasn't a quiet night. Despite the pissing rain and godawful traffic, it was standing room only. They had to lock people out. There were students there from the Photography for Fashion and Advertising, Photo Art and  MA courses at Newport,  and instead of the random stray unwashed documentary photography student, it was slick glamour all the way with Newport documentary students from Finland, Germany, Estonia, Denmark, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Argentina, England, Ireland and Wales gracing the gallery with their elegant presence.

People had come specially to the show from Belgium (lovely to meet you Fabrice Wagner and more on that in a later post), Finland, Latvia and France and as well as the admirers of  Paul Gaffney, the local love for Michal Iwanowski was oh so apparent. He had a veritable fan club.

It was hopping and for good reason. The work was great and as people to be in conversation with, Paul and Michal were a delight and eased my nerves and talked so eloquently and deeply about their work that I never got to ask what kind of of biscuit they would be. The only problem was it was so busy that some people at the back had difficulties hearing.

Instead they talked about their work; the exhibiton was two landscape shows but they were very different. Gaffney's was about forgetting and becoming one with the landscape and Iwanowski was about remembering (and becoming one with the landscape). Where Gaffney's work was light and populated by unseen spirits, Iwanowski's was dark and what life was there was to be avoided. It was a landscape history that was informed by the past and all the more evocative for that.

Iwanowski is looking for people to tell him the war stories they know and that is something that resonates, so much so that I found myself in conversation with 4 people whose second world war family histories almost summed up the entire Eastern Front; of the four, Iwanowski had his grandfather who had walked across the Soviet Union, one had a father who had escaped from Auschwitz, one had a father who had been in the SS and one had an uncle who had fought at Stalingrad. In Penarth! Unbelievable!

Both Gaffney and Iwanowski talked about their books. Iwanowski's is in the planning stage, but Gaffney's is the finished article and sold out. It was fascinating to hear about Gaffney made, promoted and sold the book, an object lesson in the hard work and lightness of touch that is required on top of the great work.

It was even more fascinating to see the love people have for his work.  I'm not sure what it is that strikes such a chord with people. Partly it s the title, partly it is the fluency with which Gaffney talks about his work, but most of all it is the directness of the work with its crossroads, split paths, dead ends and resting places. People are sucked right into it. It's honest and recognisable and direct, but with a philosophical and spiritual edge.

Earlier in the week, I posted on Martin Parr and his view that photography has never been healthier. Last night was evidence of that. Feel Good Photography that has a specific approach and vision and depth! Long may it continue.


See the show here. 

Paul Gaffney/Michal Iwanowski

Untitled #25, from We Make the Path by Walking, 2012 © Paul Gaffney

7 February – 8 March 2014
Ffotogallery presents two solo exhibitions by Paul Gaffney and Michal Iwanowski. Both artists make work of an exploratory nature, during long and physically demanding walks far from the comforts of home to reflect on ideas of landscape, meditation and memory.

Paul Gaffney
We Make the Path by Walking

Made over several journeys across southern Europe, Gaffney’s landscape photographs chronicle over two thousand miles of terrain, all negotiated on foot. We Make the Path by Walking immerses the viewer in a series of untraceable landscapes that appear at the same time undisturbed yet excavated. These quiet and subtle images consider the notion of long distance walking as a form of meditation and personal transformation.

Paul Gaffney (b. 1979) is an Irish artist who is currently undertaking a practice-based PHD in photography at the University of Ulster in Belfast. He has been nominated for various international awards including the European Publishers Award for Photography.

Exhibition supported by Culture Ireland.

Skinny Mothers, from Clear of People, 2013 © Michal Iwanowski

Michal Iwanowski
Clear of People

Michal Iwanowski’s work retraces an epic journey his grandfather and great uncle made in 1945 after escaping from a prisoner-of-war camp in Russia, and in extreme hardship walked 2000 km to Poland in search of their family.
Clear of People documents this journey. The images and writing capture Iwanowski’s own travels through landscape marked by history as well as echoing his grandfather’s experience of a quest for safety in a hostile environment.

Michal Iwanowski is a Polish born, Cardiff based, artists who currently teaches at Ffotogallery. His work explores the relationship between landscape and memory.

Project supported by the Arts Council of Wales

In Conversation with Michal Iwanowski and Paul Gaffney

Untitled #25, from We Make the Path by Walking, 2012 © Paul Gaffney I'm looking forward to being n conversation Michal Iwanowski and Paul Gaffney (both of whom are much better at talking that I) tomorrow at Ffotogallery in Penarth and seeing a few friends, old and never yet met. Here's the blurb. Ffotogallery is delighted to present two solo exhibitions by Paul Gaffney and Michal Iwanowski. Both artists make work of an exploratory nature, during long and physically demanding walks far from the comforts of home to reflect on ideas of landscape, meditation and memory. Both Gaffney and Iwanowski will be talking about their work at our Artist Talk on Thursday 6 February at 6pm, followed by the exhibition previews from 7-8.30pm. Entry is free of charge.   Made over several journeys across southern Europe, Paul Gaffney’s landscape photographs chronicle over two thousand miles of terrain, all negotiated on foot. We Make the Path by Walking immerses the viewer in a series of untraceable landscapes that appear at the same time undisturbed yet excavated. These quiet and subtle images consider the notion of long distance walking as a form of meditation and personal transformation. Michal Iwanowski’s work retraces an epic journey his grandfather and great uncle made in 1945 after escaping from a prisoner-of-war camp in Russia, and in extreme hardship walked 2000 km to Poland in search of their family. Clear of People documents this journey. The images and writing capture Iwanowski’s own travels through landscape marked by history as well as echoing his grandfather’s experience of a quest for safety in a hostile environment. Exhibition continues until 8 March 2014. For more information see our website. Ffotogallery's exhibition programme is supported by the Arts Council of Wales.

follow on Twitter | like on Facebook | forward to a friend GALLERY: Ffotogallery, Turner House, Plymouth Rd, Penarth CF64 3DH +44 29 2070 8870 turnerhouse@ffotogallery.org Gallery open Tues - Sat, 11am - 5pm GENERAL ENQUIRIES: Ffotogallery, Chapter, Market Rd, Cardiff, CF5 1QE +44 29 2034 1667 info@ffotogallery.org You are receiving this email because you have signed up to our mailing list. SUPPORT OUR CAMPAIGN TO IMPROVE OUR EDUCATION

Martin Parr: "Photography has Never Been Healthier"

I spent Saturday morning interviewing  Martin Parr for a feature in next month's BJP on his passion for books and the upcoming Volume 3 of the Photobook History. It was a rare pleasure to hear Martin talk about his advocacy of new photography and his passion for the way in which photography connects to a wider world. And to see the new photobooks that just keep coming in - Japanese accordion protest book from the 1970s and Italian fascist propaganda books (including one which Martin said, "...might just be one of the greatest photobooks ever made" - see picture bleow) which are just fantastic to look at but don't feature in any photographic history.

Martin wants photographic history to shift away from dry theory-based academia towards a history that is more photobook-based and controlled by photographers- and I think that's happening. But I think it goes beyond that. As soon as I saw his photobooks both at his home and in his library in Bedminister, it seemed that the photography he is collecting is connected to the big wide world. It isn't precious or elitist or even nerdy, but rather links to life around us. Martin asked what I wanted to look at and I chose some Soviet, Italian, Japanese and Chinese propaganda books (and the Map, and Barakei...) and was blown away both by the production and design, but also the sense that these were once part of a social, political and economic landscape of the 1920s, 1930s ad 1950s.

The marks on the book of politically dead personalities showed this (that's Liu Shaoqi and Khrushev crossed out above ) in an album celebrating the 10th anniversary of the PRC). This was photography that goes beyond the tedious photo-centric wafflings we normally encounter. Every other week, you read something on photography being dead and there is a collective sigh and rolling of eyes.

As Martin Parr said: "Photography has never been healthier. There are more people engaged, involved and interested in photography than ever before. And that's a good thing."

Read all about it in the March edition of the BJP  and look out for The Photobook History, Volume 3. Coming to a store near you very soon.