1839 Exhibition

Well, no – not really.  This was taken today, not in 1839.  The display cases are just solid  blocks of wood.  But put on the Virtual Reality headsets (and associated backpacks) and you are transported to The Model Room in King Edward’s School in New Street, Birmingham in August 1839.  Look up and you can see the splendid wooden beamed ceiling;  walk around the display cases and, through their glass tops and sides, you can see examples of early photographs which were being exhibited by William Henry Fox Talbot in his first major public exhibition of photography in the UK.  You can look out of the windows to discover the source of crowd noises outside – the Chartist uprising in the city which had threatened the success of the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science of which this exhibition was part.


This VR exhibit - Matt Collishaw’s Thresholds - is part of Photo London, a major exhibition of fine art photography filling Somerset House in London. A few weeks ago at this location I enjoyed the Sony World Photography awards, also a large exhibition occupying both the east and west wings of this large building.  However, Photo London occupies the East and West wings and the south wing and the Mezzanine Rooms and the Embankment riverside rooms and the first floor – and there is also a large temporary building filling the Fountain Court.  You really need a full day to do this event justice.


Galleries from the UK, Europe and the US are exhibiting their photographic artworks.  The place was busy, with lots of arty people and posh accents.  Some of the artwork was barely recognisable as photographic in origin.  A fair proportion of the photographs were wildly abstract, or (to me) poorly composed, boring images which raised the question: “Why?”.  Why did the photographer take/make them? Even more important, why would anyone buy them? Having said that, the majority of the photographs were excellent and hugely enjoyable and there appeared to be a lot of genuine interest and probably quite a few sales.


In the Embankment Gallery West, marking the 70th anniversary of Magnum Photos, Martin Parr and David Hurn curated a set of images illustrating swaps.  Hurn has built a wonderful collection of iconic images, but not by purchasing them;  instead he has swapped some of his own images with other photographers, choosing which of their images he was interested in.    By chance I was there as the two men toured the exhibit talking about it.  At one point Parr asked Hurn “What do you think of Photo London?”  Bearing in mind that this was actually a part of Photo London,  Hurn was careful and non committal in his comments, but I got the impression that some of the more abstract or creative images were not to his taste:  he prefers images which convey a story.   Parr was more direct: “If a gallery proprietor at some of the exhibits said ‘Martin – welcome! Please feel free to take any print you want’,  I wouldn’t bother”!  Glad I’m not the only one who felt like that about some of the photographs.


However, there were some splendid and memorable images.  I particularly liked “Smoke and Veil, Paris (Vogue), 1958” by William Klein in a new limited edition of 32x40 inch gelatin silver prints.  Unfortunately all 30 of the limited edition had been sold, so I’ll have to find somewhere else to spend my £27500.  (Not the most expensive image by a long margin.)  However, the 89 year old William Klein turned up at the event, signing copies of his books.  Unsurprisingly, there was a long queue of people to meet him.


Excellent event, only on for 4 days (Sunday is the last day).  If you decide to visit, allow plenty of time – it’s huge.

A few more photos from Photo London here.