11 Exhibitions To Visit This Winter
Escape the winter blues by visiting some of these amazing, UK based exhibitions launching this winter. Showcasing topics from trauma to Swiss landscapes, love to national identity, there is a wide variety of themes you can direct your attention to, rather than focusing on the cold, wet British weather and the Christmas shopping you probably haven’t started yet.
5th October 2018 – 5th January 2019
Chloe Dewe Mathews: In Search of Frankenstein
Photo by Chloe Dewe Mathews
With inspiration from Mary Shelley’s book ‘Frankenstein’, Chloe travelled to Lake Geneva and the Swiss Alps almost two-hundred years after the novel was published. During her travels, Chloe documented the beautiful landscapes of Switzerland, alongside the unnerving nuclear disaster shelters that were first built in the Cold War. Chloe aims to scrutinise recent social and environmental issues using the ideas presented in Shelley’s novel. She draws upon these similarities in both a logical and physical format, with her photographers of the bunkers appearing uncannily similar to the description of Dr Frankenstein’s laboratory.
18th October 2018 – 27th January 2019
Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize
2 Greta and Guenda by Guen Fiore
Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize celebrates worldwide, contemporary portraiture, where all photographers, both amateur and professional, are invited to enter their work. The portraits range from unprompted moments to commissioned photographs, yet all images tell the captivating story in which they were created, guiding the audience through an abundance of engaging tales regarding photographer and subject. The exhibition is showcasing fifty-seven works from the competition winners, creating a diverse collection of people, places and emotions to explore the differing approaches to portrait photography.
19th October 2018 - 27th January 2019
Anselm Kiefer
Photo by Anselm Kiefer
The Herbert Art Gallery and ARTIST ROOMS are collaborating to bring together significant pieces from over forty-years of Anselm’s career; a German-based photographer born towards the end of the Second World War. The photographs explore the impact post-war Germany had on the artist, whereby themes of mutual identity and shared remembrance are examined, whilst questioning taboo topics in recent history.
26th October 2018 - 6th January 2019
Vasantha Yogananthan: A Myth of Two Souls
Photo by Vasantha Yogananthan
The Photographers’ Gallery is holding Vasantha’s first solo exhibition, showcasing his project ‘The Myth of Two Souls’. This ongoing body of work explores the Indian legend describing of a heroic prince’s efforts to save his queen from a demon king. Vasantha travels from north to south India exploring the influence of this ubiquitous myth on everyday life, combining
fiction and history to redefine the Ramayana tale. The images within the series demonstrate aesthetic perfection with a beautiful, pastel colour range induced by natural light and Vasantha’s analogue process; this is not one to miss!
10th November 2018 – 21st December 2018
Anita Corbin: Visible Girls: Revisited
Photo by Anita Corbin
During the 1980’s, British photographer Anita Corbin documented the lives of fifty-six women, all identifying within different subcultures including Punks, lesbians and Mods.
Within a medium that was almost exclusively male dominated at the time, Anita succeeded in capturing a representation of these women through double portraits depicting love, friendships and sisterhoods. Thirty-six year later, Anita has revisited the majority of participants from her first series Visible Girls, to explore their growth and sense of self through a new, digital lens.
15th November 2018 – 17th February 2019
Ren Hang and Robin Hammond: Wake Up Together
Photo by Robin Hammond
The Open Eye Gallery has combined the work of Ren and Robin as part of the Homotopia Festival 2018. Ren’s nude photographs of his Beijing friends express the cooperation between physical beings and their surroundings, and the beauty and freedom of nudity. With similar themes in mind, Robin collaborates with individuals that identify within the LGBTQI+ community. A selection of photographs and handwritten accounts of their experiences of oppression were created, with the hope to inspire a life of acceptance and openness. Not entirely dissimilar bodies of work in terms of their aims; Ren and Robin use their photographs to glimpse into a world in which gender identity and sexual orientation is unrestricted.
23rd November 2018 – 3rd February 2019
Alexis Hunter: Sexual Warfare
Photo by Alexis Hunter
In her first British, solo exhibition since 2006, feminist artist Alexis Hunter is showcasing her work from the 1970’s. Whilst exploring the use of staged photography, Alexis questions social power dynamics, and the use of sexuality and gender stereotypes to generate profit in our capitalistic world.
24th November 2018 – 17th March 2019
Robert Blomfield: Edinburgh Street Photography
Photo by Robert Blomfield
The City Art Centre is exhibiting Robert Blomfield’s first, large-scale exhibition of documentary work from the post-war period of Scotland during 1950 to 1970. Robert’s respectful approach to documentary photography allowed him to capture the true
livelihood of Scotland’s urban scene, generating a more developed and personal understanding of the Scottish culture during that time period.
1st December 2018 – 27th January 2019
Jill Todd Photographic Award
Photo by Sarah Michelle Riisager, Commended Awardee
This annual exhibition is showcasing work by Alishia Farnan, Jill Quigley and Helen Jones; all winners of the Jill Todd Photographic Award that aims to provide exposure to upcoming photographers based in Scotland and Ireland. The installment will also feature work from six other participants who have been commended for their entries. A range of topics will be highlighted, including post-industrial town planning; the experience of terminal illness and the impact of smart devices on human interactions, creating a well-rounded and stimulating exhibition.
14th December 2018 – 30th March 2019
Phoebe Boswell: The Space Between Things
Still from ‘Ythlaf’ by Phoebe Boswell
In an explicitly immersive exhibition, featuring photography as well as illustrations, Phoebe invites you to explore her personal experience of grief, trauma, stamina and recovery. Self-portraiture, in both the physical and suggestive state, guides the viewer through an emotive journey of life-changing events, involving the loss of sight in her right-eye. The multi-media exhibition aims to transcribe this subjective encounter into a collective language of grief, opening up communication surrounding the often silenced topic.
14th December 2018 – 14th February 2019
209 Women
Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington and Shadow Home Secretary, Labour photographed by Karen Knorr
Portcullis House is holding the profound ‘209 Women’ exhibition, which has been established to celebrate the one-hundred-year anniversary since women could cast their vote in the election and were able to sit in Parliament as MPs. The portraits, all featuring female MPs, have been captured by emerging female photographers across Britain, all involved in a different aspect of the photographic medium; from fashion to documentary photography. Consequently, a visually stimulating body of work has been created, with the aim to adjust the view of women in power and encourage the younger generation of females to continue to be strong and independent individuals.
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