Past exhibitions

From Outside Yamaguchi - James Medcraft (On show from 22/06/2010 - 20/08/2010)

Photographed during a visit to Southern Japan in late 2008, 'From Outside Yamaguchi' explores a western visitor's emerson within an unfamiliar physical and cultural environment. Focusing on the notions of alienation in a seemingly welcoming environment, this selection of images from the project focuses on the cultural and social aspects of western influence on this delicate social environment.

For more information please visit: www.jamesmedcraft.com

Rotherhithe Photographs 1971-1980 - Geoff Howard (from April 15th to June 19th 2010)

Images from "Rotherhithe Photographs" were first published in the legendary "Creative Camera" magazine in 1975, when the project, then recently started, ran as a cover and major portfolio, and was described as "a report from someone who is unquestionably one of the major talents among British photographers". A selection of pictures was also exhibited at London's Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1978.

Unseen for many years, the photographs are a personal documentation of the south London docklands: a cut-off, self-sufficient, largely working-class society, seen between the closure of the docks which had been the area's "raison d'etre", and the consumerist redevelopment of the later Thatcher years.

"I photographed the people and places that caught my attention, shooting from an interest in, and a curiosity about, what was there and what was happening, happy to be working without the restrictions which often accompany commissioned projects.

People have asked why I shot with flash - in those days, most photographers would only use available light - shades of Cartier-Bresson - but in the disco pubs, it was really dark - and I wanted to see, to show more clearly, what it was like, what was happening; less atmosphere indeed, but more information.

I stopped photographing there so intensively when I felt I had done the things which demanded to be photographed, and I didn't want to make the same pictures over again. Then the whole area, the whole character of the area, changed - with redevelopment, new building, the yuppyfication of docklands; there were lots of photographers documenting the new docklands, and if I had continued, it would have been a different story, so it seemed like a natural end, a natural place to stop.

I have been back, a few times - I was there last year, to try and check some locations when I started putting this book together; it was interesting, frustrating, indeed perplexing trying to identify places I used to know well, and now so changed."

"Rotherhithe Photographs: 1971-1980" by Geoff Howard
Available direct from the photographer at £22.50 inc p&p
ISBN 978-0-9561389-0-3
Vane Publishing - 92 Vallance Road London - N22 7UG
Tel 020 8365 7053
vaneprojects[at]hotmail.com
→ more about Geoff Howard - www.geoffahoward.com

White Chair Portfolio - Trevor Crone (from Nov 24th 2009 to Jan 24th 2010)

I don't know quite why I took the very first photograph of white plastic chairs (Canvey Island, Essex, 2003). I've come to believe that there are times when subject matter communicates to us in someway.

A comment made by John Blakemore some years ago about one of the photographs prompted me to explore their possibilities further. So I drew up a three point manifesto.

1. They must be white plastic.
2. They must be found and not arranged, touched or altered by me in anyway.
3. They must be relatively small within the scene.

These white chairs seem to be a metaphor of social issues, consumerism, our throw away mentality, social status, etc.

The portfolio to date consists of 12 photographs and as such I feel is complete, only if an unusual scene presents itself to me will I feel the desire to photograph it. So far I have resisted all attempts of communication of the white plastic chairs.

→ more about Trevor Crone

A Different Nature - Judith Lyons (from Sept 23rd to Nov 20th)

The images on display are taken from the 2009 series A Different Nature.

Created in the darkroom without a camera or film, each print is the unique and unrepeatable result of the collision of light, the subject matter and photographic chemistry.

Through this work, my intention was to investigate the ability of the photographic process to reveal the interior spaces of plants and flowers, a world which is normally invisible to the naked eye.

The resulting images explore the ontological dualism inherent in the photographic image, namely the constant tension and oscillation between the visible and the invisible and between presence and absence.
Judith Lyons

For more information please visit: www.judithlyonsphotography.co.uk

A Nation of Shopkeepers - Maxine Beuret 2009

To understand the present it is important to know about the past. This exhibition depicts a range of long-established small privately owned shops across the midlands.

The criteria are that they have remained largely unchanged for many years and thus offer a sense of the past in the present. This continuity is an important part of the high street environment. The design and contents also tells the stories of the businesses and their owners.

For more information or to suggest a shop please visit: www.maxinebeuret.com

Shane Gilliver - Family Snapshot (On show from 22/09/2010 to 15/11/2010)

click on the image to enlarge

This series of photographs, Family Snapshot, was created over a period of 15 years as an ever evolving portrait of Shane's two daughters Nanci and Sunny.

First and foremost the pictures were taken as a way of Shane connecting with his daughters, in a way that could be rewarding for them all. The shots were all staged, but to varying degrees, with the girls not only collaborating as subjects but also with composition.

The photographs will be on view in our gallery space until November 15^th.