For May’s Museum Dump I am taking a deep dive into photography exhibitions which are certainly all the rage at the moment….
CLOSING SOON! Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron: Portraits to Dream In, National Portrait Gallery, until 16 June 2024
Time to get dreamy over at the NPG with a look at two artists who produced photographic work 100 years apart. Whilst I was aware of Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879) I don’t think I have ever seen so many of her prints in one exhibition. Working from the 1860’s Cameron’s work is quite mesmerising particularly the way her portraits of women, whether they are staring off into the distance or straight at the camera, offer us no smiles or acknowledgement that they are being photographed. The absence of pretence and performance make for a strange connection to these long gone moments caught on camera.
Francesca Woodman (1958-81) was more of an unknown entity to me and I liked her more ethereal photographs and her triptych of caryatids were effectively hung half-way through the exhibition. I am not sure the comparison of the two totally worked for me as I found some of the thematic connections a little tenuous but it didn’t detract from my admiration of these women as pioneers of their craft.
Don’t miss – The remarkable picture of a 16 year old Ellen Terry that Cameron took in 1864. The famed actress of the late 19th and early 20th century also pops up over at the fantastic ‘Sargent and Fashion’ exhibition at Tate Britain where she appears in a painting from 1889 in full Lady Macbeth costume. The costume is right next to the painting complete with beetle-wing cases!
Women of the RNLI, National Maritime Museum, until 1 December 2024
Portrait photography continues as the focus of ‘Women of the RNLI’ over at the National Maritime Museum. An exhibition to mark the bicentenary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution it features a series of 42 photographs by Jack Lowe. Lowe is on an admirable mission to photograph all 238 operational RNLI Lifeboat Stations and crewe members and you have to take your hat off to his approach. Rather than make it easy on himself he is using a Thornton-Pickard field camera from the early 20th century and developing photographs using a wet collodion technique invented in the mid-19th century. It gives some of the images a spooky, ethereal quality that feels timeless.
There is a real sense of community from his images and hints at the histories of people who live near and with the power and threat of the sea. I hadn’t really thought about the tradition of volunteering with the RNLI that is handed down in many families and the importance of taking on that mantel to be ever ready to save lives at sea.
There is a deceptive calmness to some shots of slipways and hard to imagine the fear and adrenaline of a call out to stormy seas. There is a dignity to the shots and I wonder if the use of a larger, more traditional camera demanded a different response in the sitter, an honouring of those who have gone before that would have been missing if a smaller digital camera had been used.
Don’t miss – Look for a spot you recognise in the costal shots. I’ve sat many times on the beach at Hastings by the slipway and never thought of the RNLI volunteers who go out to save lives. I will definitely be looking out for them on my next visit.
Polly Braden: Leaving Ukraine, Foundling Museum, until 1 September 2024
Documentary photography is at the heart of the new exhibition at the Foundling Museum by Polly Braden, where she tells the story of the children and women who have been forced to leave their homes after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Braden’s photography captures just a handful of the 6 million displaced Ukrainian civilians who are uncertain when they will be able to return home and what that home will look like when they finally do.
Faced with young girls a similar age to my own daughters made me think about the reality of the upheaval of pulling them out of their home, school and routines. It made me think of the responsibilities I have now, not just for my children, but also elderly parents. When you have multiple caring responsibilities the thought of having to take everyone with you just feels so overwhelming.
It is eye-opening to follow the multiple journeys Braden’s families have faced, not just one displacement from Ukraine to another country but often many journeys and upheavals in order to access work, school and to feel safe and welcome. It elicits sympathy and empathy for Ukrainians who may not be on the front line but who have found their lives changed forever.
Don’t miss – The pictures the girls took themselves when 20 of them returned to Ukraine to hold their prom. One of those moments of marking childhood into adulthood and new beginnings. You can only hope for a better future for these resilient young women.
CLOSING SOON! Acts of Resistance: Photography, Feminisms and the Art of Protest, South London Gallery, until 9 June 2024
I really enjoyed this empowering look at what it means to be a woman in the world today. The artworks and photography powerfully points to the constraints, threats and restrictions that women face and the power of art to subvert, highlight and challenge the status quo.
There is the quiet power of hundreds of unnamed women captured in a wall of photographs that feature the often hidden work of American abortion care workers. It is the scaffolding of administration, the un-showy business of answering phones, running training sessions and booking appointments that give women the choice in deciding what is right for their own bodies. This is not just artwork to look at, this is art that has a voice and shouts out loud demanding attention.
Don’t miss – The striking work of South African artist Zanele Muhoi whose photograph pays homage to the many domestic workers whose work fails to be recognised. Her solo exhibition opens at Tate Modern on 6 June and I can’t wait for it.
Finally….
CLOSING SOON! Photographers’ Gallery, Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2024 and Bert Hardy: Photojournalism in War and Peace, until 2 June 2024
I finally managed my first trip to the Photographers’ Gallery just off Oxford Street and I can’t believe it has taken me so long to visit.
There was a chance to see the photographers shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize and in particular I loved the collaboration between photographer Gauri Gill and painter Rajesh Vangad. Gill’s photographs serve as the backdrop to Vangad’s intricate illustrations opening up histories of place and pointing to the colonial scars that shape the landscapes. The marriage of two artistic styles also pay homage to indigenous rituals, the threads just below the surface that link communities together.
You get two for the price of one on a visit and the other current exhibition is ‘Bert Hardy: Photojournalism in War and Peace’. I hadn’t heard of Hardy and I really loved the spread of his work from a Blitzed London to celebrities and hard hitting images of Korea and the Greek Civil War. I just love shots of old London and it is clear that this working class Southwark boy knew his London well.
Don’t miss – As election fever sweeps the country don’t miss this fantastic shot Hardy took of Hugh Dalon, a Labour candidate, talking to a train driver during campaigning for the 1950 General Election. Somethings might change but sometimes, somethings hardly change at all…
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Want a more in depth review? Then take a look at my blog on the new ‘Royal Portraits: A century of photography’ at the King’s Gallery. https://tinctureofmuseum.wordpress.com/2024/05/18/royal-portraits-a-century-of-photography-kings-galley-may-2024/
Tincture of Museum 