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March 18, 2024At the Tate Gallery Exhibition, Women in Revolt, which celebrates 20 years of of feminist art and Activism in the UK between 1970 and 1990, I was reminded of the influence that some of the photographers had on my own personal work, especially that of the late Jo Spence whose project Beyond the Family Album particularly resonated with me. As I understand it, one of Spence’s motivations was to make representations of what tends to be taboo or omitted from the idealised selection displayed in family albums. Family albums were still a feature of my generation’s upbringing and were usually ‘curated’ to show happy events and celebrations and to show people at their best. One could argue that since the advent of social media, the public disclosure of what had hitherto been considered private, personal information is in some ways an extension of the concept of opening up the boundaries of self-representation. Posting the minutia of daily life has lead to what many consider oversharing. Bearing the risk of oversharing in mind, here are some recent images influenced by Jo Spence’s narrative. These photographs try to go beyond the standard themes of the family album genre, using my mother’s personal artefacts as inspiration . Above, my 86 year old mother’s slippers, taken in 2023. It’s a still life; her golden mules on her pink fitted carpet. My feelings about this oscillate between sadness and acceptance. At first I was upset and rather judgemental at seeing how worn out they were, as if they somehow represented a neglectful decline from a once glamorous existence. I tried to tell her nicely about them, using a health and safety argument, but she immediately retorted “so what, they’re comfortable”. So I tried to see it from her point of view – slippers are supposed to be comfortable, aren’t they? The next few images are also recent photographs from a project documenting my mother. Below, a display with empty perfume bottles on the window sill of her bathroom, followed by a still life featuring a glass filled with stones collected from her travels, topped with a doily and net flower:. Above, my mum at her dressing table a few months ago. This photo is in many ways an update of one taken several decades ago which also features in my post Woman at a Dressing Table: Next, some more images from my archives. In the image below my late father is captured during his weekly Sunday ritual of washing the car,. I think the photo dates from some time in the 1980s. My mum looking at her old personal album – circa 1990 The above image was taken in the early 1990s and is a self-portrait and souvenir of my time breastfeeding. I can’t remember exactly how I took it but the final image was shot off a TV monitor. More recently, a close up details of my husband Stephen taken whilst in intensive care in hospital following a serious cycling accident in May 2023: And finally an experimental self portrait using imagery that emerged during psychotherapy and which was also used as a basis for a painting: [...] Read more...
December 24, 2023According to some family elders when I was a young kid, although I was generally very obedient, compliant and well-behaved, there was something I would regularly say that disrupted the stereotype. This phrase was, why should I? I remember being teased by some relatives, exaggerating and elongating the way I pronounced “shhhoould”. Decades later, I’m still prone to thinking independently and questioning assumptions. In this post I’ve gathered photographs I’ve taken that feature the question mark symbol. As opposed to the exclamation mark, which is more commonly seen in graffiti and signage, I’ve found the question mark is not regularly on display in the streets so I tend to take notice when I see it. On a recent trip to New York whilst waiting for a train on a subway platform I found myself sitting next to a woman wearing a large question mark earring. I asked if I could take her picture and I took it as a sign to sort through my images on this theme. Question Mark Earring, NYC 2023 Another question mark accessory that caught my eye was a badge, designed and worn by fellow photographer Richard Kaby. Below, a photograph taken at the London Colour Walk in November, 2022: Richard Kaby’s Question Mark Badge The other day I was chatting with Richard and told him about the theme of this blog and that I was going to include an image of his question mark badge. We were discussing the concept and the importance of asking why? and he said that for him it also went hand in hand with why not?. Funnily enough whilst in New York I had taken a view from the hotel window precisely because the outside of a building in the distance had been graffitied with the words Why... and to it’s side WHY NOT? Why… Why Not? Lower East Side View & Graffiti Below, one of my earliest photographs containing a question mark. I was amused and bemused by this sign, seen in a subway station in New York back in 2010. I googled the reference; the hotline number apparently received many calls but it was in fact an advertising campaign promoting a comedy film: Still a Virgin? New York subway sign, 2010 The representation of a question mark can come in surprising forms. One day, on leaving my apartment I looked down at the pavement and noticed a hair extension that formed the illusion of the shape of a question mark: Pavement Abstract: Found hair accessory in the form of a question mark, 2023 Below, a few shots where the question mark felt mysterious: Red Question Mark, Hampstead Heath, 2010 Red question mark on mossy tree stump, Hampstead Heath, 2012 Question Mark and Llama stencil graffiti, Tel Aviv, 2014. The mystery of the red question mark juxtaposed with a llama in the image above was solved by my cousin Susi. She explained that the word LAMA is Hebrew for why, so the llama image serves as a Hebrew pun. I should have realised that as I speak Hebrew but I had obviously been trying to decode it from an Anglophone perspective! Next a couple of examples of Italian graffiti combined with question marks where the language and/or spelling suggest a specific dialect. Graffiti in Bologna, 2018 Venetian Graffiti, 2017 A couple more images featuring sightings of question marks in Venice. The first image depicts the current mayor of Venice and the text asks where are you? Brugnaro, where are you? 2017 Venetian Carnival Mask with question mark motifs, 2018 More question marks from my travels. Below, striking graffiti in Paris which roughly translates as I’m leaving, and you? Parisian graffiti, 2010 Watching Thunderbirds on TV in Tokyo: TV screen: A moment from Thunderbirds with Japanese subtitles A couple from San Francisco: Marry Me? Mural, San Francisco, 2017 Smile looking like Lombard Street? I didn’t understand the above billboard when I saw it and had to look it up. Apparently Lombard Street is the most crooked street in the world. Aha! Next, a selection of images shot in London featuring question marks seen on walls: Above, during the Covid Pandemic this chalk sign was attached to a chipboard wall, asking who will you hug once this lot is over? Hate? London, 2015 What homeless people? London, 2016 Question on a Rainy Day, 2023 So What? Kentish Town, 2021 And finally, a question mark on a tattoo, the quotation a line from the Abba song Thank You for the Music: [...] Read more...
November 20, 2023Over the years I’ve blogged on the subject of eyes in photography, most recently on the themes of eyeliner and as well as the phenomenon known as eye-bombing. In this piece I’m featuring a series of photographs taken in the last 18 months where the eye has been the source of inspiration. Most of the images were shot in London; I’ve also included a couple of shots from New York and Girona. Below, a series of abstracts spotted whilst walking the streets both locally and beyond: Street abstract with sticker, Soho 2023 Torn in Shoreditch, 2023 Profile with Taped Eye, 2023 Torn in New York, 2023 Overlapping Eyes and Graffiti Stickers in Gospel Oak, 2023 Street Art with additional markings and stickers, NYC, 2023 Graffiti: eyes with long lashes, Girona Next, a selection of photos featuring a mix of celebrities. Gene Wilder’s doubled eyes always catch my attention when I walk past this creased poster on London’s Great Marlborough Street: Detail of poster featuring Gene Wilder, Great Marlborough Street Dylan is watching: Being followed by Bob Dylan’s eyes peering out from a vinyl record wooden crate Julian Assange’s eye peeps out from behind the man’s cardi, South Hampstead: Eyes and Reflections: Reflections in Islington Eyes in Long Acre Eyes in the Clouds, Gospel oak Parliament Hill Illusion The following photographs feature the eye motif in personal adornment, accessories, clothing and backdrops. I was struck by the large eyes tattooed on the neck of the passenger waiting for a train at Tottenham Court Road Tube: Close up of a Man with Eyes tattooed on his neck Below, a 19th Century painted Eye Miniature with jewelled tears and surrounded by pearls, Victoria & Albert Museum. The eye was considered to be the window to the soul. Sequin Evil Eye: Detail of sequin evil eye on London Lucumi Choir Director Daniela de Armas’s outfit The following photographs feature members of London’s Colour Walk community: Portrait of Florent Bidois: the backdrop detail features Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust Portrait of Maria Fernanda Latif with 3rd Eye Artist Belinda Nathan wearing an eye accessory on her hat stands alongside street art featuring an eye near Old Street Fabia Brackenbury’s scarf Writer Rosie Sandler’s Blinking Eye Bag Blinking Eye Bag part 2 Rosie’s tights One of my favourite photographers is the Japanese artist Daido Moriyama whose show is currently on at London’s Photographer’s Gallery. The eye motif is a feature of the exhibition: Elevator Selfie at Daido Moriyama Exhibition At the exhibition I couldn’t help admiring a visitor’s coat which featured a Cindy Sherman self-portrait. I also particularly liked the fragmented repetition created when the coat was done up. I was told that the coat was part of a collaboration between the artist and the Japanese brand Undercover. Cindy Sherman self portrait on coat by Undercover Detail of Cindy Sherman coat with repeated fragmented eye Links: London Colour Walk Florent Bidois Belinda Nathan Rosie Sandler Daido Moriyama Retrospective [...] Read more...
October 18, 2023I’ve been regularly photographing the view from my kitchen window for the past seven years, starting in mid October 2016. I had considered “finishing” the project as it had become rather big; but have found that I’m still inspired and impelled to capture some of the transient seasonal sights which also included some extreme weather. For example, last December there was a day where it rained so hard I actually shot through the glass rather than my usual practice of opening the window. The result was rather painterly: Distorted Rainy Day View with Passing Tesco Freight Train Here are a few more from my updated project: Christmas Day, 2022 Sunset, late June 2023 Rainstorm, July 2023 Golden Autumn, November 2022 Blue skies after the rain, March 2023 Snow, December 2022 See the full project here. [...] Read more...
September 30, 2023It’s the beginning of autumn and also the season for a sequence of Jewish holidays – the new year aka Rosh HaShana, followed by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and Sukkot, a harvest festival. These holidays are sometimes represented by symbols, such as apple and honey for the new year, or a citrus fruit and palm branches for the current harvest festival. One thing you will never see in orthodox Judaism is a physical anthropomorphised representation of God as this is considered taboo and linked to the prohibition of idolatry. In fact, I was even taught as a child in Jewish primary school to write G-D, and omit the letter O as a sign of respect, a extension of the idea of not taking his name in vain. There is also a tradition that any written Hebrew text featuring the name of God is supposed to be preserved and not discarded. I’m proof of the “give me a child until he is 7*” school of thought as I still feel a bit uncomfortable when I don’t use the hyphen! Graffiti seen on a tree in Jerusalem, 2014 The above photograph was taken in Jerusalem back in 2014. The plea for help, carved into the tree illustrates the aforementioned prohibition. I’ve gathered some photos I’ve taken that include the word GOD. Below, more recently at a bus shelter in London’s Pimlico I saw the following graffiti: The word NOT has been crossed out so the resulting text states that GOD IS GREAT. Sign in New York, 2013 Next a series of signs in the UK that have caught my eye: God is Able Hair salon sign, Dalston Local headline Decorated tree with God save Britain sign, Camden God makes no mistakes: Brighton Pride Parade, 2022 Salsa class at St.Mary Moorfields Above, it was quite a surreal experience dancing salsa in front of version of Leonardo’s The Last Supper. The location is St. Mary Moorfield, the only Roman Catholic Church in the square mile of the City of London. But on my recent visit to Girona in Spain the ubiquity of Catholic iconography is much more apparent. I’ve also chosen examples of Catholic iconography where the image Jesus is used in commercial ways that strike me as bizarre. Vending Machine, Girona, 2023 Newsstand in Girona, 2023 Amen: graffiti under Catholic religious painting, Palma , Mallorca, 2023 Below, layers of text and torn posters featuring Christian iconography in Jerusalem: Next, some examples of subverting religious iconography: Street Art with cell phone and religious iconography Palma de Mallorca, 2023 Ah, Men,Pride T shirt, London 2022 I’ll be Back Jesus T, Los Angeles, 2017 Messianic themes: On the subject of returning – although Judaism prohibits the physical representation of God, there seems to be a plethora of imagery when is comes to the Messiah. In the last few years I’ve amassed a collection of images that to me connote human religious iconography despite being associated with orthodox Judaism. These photographs were taken in London, Venice, New York, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Many of these images reference the Mashiach or Messiah, and feature the face of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe who apparently is considered by some to be the Messiah, even though he died in 1994: Greeted by the Messiah, Tel Aviv, 2022 Signage in Tel Aviv, equating the Messiah with an eternal King Hanging out in Tel Aviv Lotto & Mashiach signage, Tel Aviv, 2022 At the Venice Ghetto, 2018 Messiah at Golders Green Station Signage outside hat store, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 2016 Below, a few images featuring Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser, a spiritual leader of the movement devoted to the teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslow. Visually, I originally mistook the Rabbi for being the same one as featured above but on closer inspection he is different. The image of this long bearded rabbi, depicted with his arms up in elation, is usually accompanied by some Hebrew letters spelling a Kabbalistic play on words which sounds sounds like /spells Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman. Rabbi Yisroel Bar Odesser, Na Nach text and Graffiti double, Tel Aviv, 2015 Smiley face sticker of orthodox Jewish male with Na Nach etc text, Golders Green, 2019 Torn posters, Jerusalem, 2014 Ber Odesser poster and Graffiti, Tel Aviv 2022 *’Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man’, a quote often attributed to Aristotle. [...] Read more...
August 31, 2023I remember reading that Winston Churchill’s advice for success included economy of effort. Never stand up when you can sit down, and never sit down when you can lie down. I was reminded of this again recently when I was on holiday in Palma, Mallorca. It was a very hot August and in addition to relaxing in obvious places like the public beach I regularly came across people reclining in more urban spaces: Resting, Palma City Beach, 2023 Below, a few shots of people resting up in the city centre: Feet up on Passeig Del Born Reclining in Palma Resting up in Palma Shortly after returning to the UK the choir I sing with, The London Lucumi Choir, had a gig at the Shambala Festival near Northampton. We were closing the festival, and as the last act we were due to perform at 1am. Here’s a night shot of choir director Daniela catching a moment of restorative relaxation in the hire car in anticipation of our performance: I’ve gathered a collection of photographs taken in the past year showing rest, relaxation and sleep. The majority of the images were shot in a public, urban space. A Bit of Shut Eye, Spitalfields, 2023 Coffee break during London Heatwave, Soho, 2023 Backstage break, Leicester Square Next, more representations featuring sleeping, reclining and relaxing in various London locations. The following images to me all have an element of the surreal: Dreaming in Chelsea Looking Up, Outernet, Charing Cross Road Man in a waste bin, Parkway, Camden Another angle of the Man in the Bin Reclining Dolls in Tufnell Park Below, two different shots of people with their feet up in Coal Drop’s Yard in Kings Cross: Feet Up, Coal Drops Yard Creativity & Embroidery – I think his name was Raf The following images were taken a couple of days before the Coronation of King Charles in May 2023 and feature members of the public resting and waiting by The Mall and St. James’s Park: Resting in St.Jjames’s Park, May 2023 Feet Up Waiting for the Coronation, May 2023 Finally couple of photographs shot on London Underground: Deep Sleep on the Tube, 2022 Three Dreamers, 2023 [...] Read more...