A sequence taken on an early morning walk on the cliff-top paths near Cala del Aceite, near the town of Conil in Andalucia.
A sequence taken on an early morning walk on the cliff-top paths near Cala del Aceite, near the town of Conil in Andalucia.
In February I recieved an email inviting me to submit a photograph to an exhibition. Photographers get these all the time, and as many are from commercial operations, I very nearly didn’t give it the time of day. But as one of my images, 43 Gardeners’ Hands, had already been selected, it caught my eye. I read the small print and after a couple of emails with the organizers from Orticola di Lombardia, it turned out to be a genuine and very well planned show entitled ‘Small Garden’ in the Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Milano. It is part of an annual show called ‘Orticola’, which is staged every May in Milan in the public gardens in the Via Palestro.
The curator was Iaia Gagliani, who selected botanical work from 20 photographers worldwide. Nikki de Gruchy was the only other British photographer involved, so it was a great priviledge to take part.
In the end two different images of mine were actually exhibited in the show itself, though others appear in the presentation slide show (see below).
The show runs from 9th to 20th May 2012 at: Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Milano – Via Palestro 16 – Milano
The full list of participants:
Earlier in the week I had the opportunity to spend a day wondering around Milan after attending the ‘Small Garden’ exhibition at Galleria D’arte Moderna di Milano.
I can’t exactly remember when I first came across polymer gravure printing. It is a modern variant of the copperplate gravure process that the photographers Alvin Langdon Coburn and Edward Steichen used to great effect in the early 20th century. Maybe it was the book of Mr Coburn’s work I was given whilst at college. All I know is that it has been driving me nuts for at least two years, as several attempts haven’t got me very far.
Two weeks ago I attended a three day course at Rabley Drawing Gallery in Marlborough, run by printer Martyn Grimmer with the intention of of improving my understanding of this dark art. A steep learning curve, but after returning yesterday for another session, I managed to ‘pull’ my first (fairly good) print! The results:
A print not quite right - apparently the patches are called mid-tone measles. The only cure is to start again.
Four more portraits from the Land Girls series from autumn 2010 and summer 2011.
I went to a Remembrance Day service this morning. It was a shame that a local resident decided 11am was an appropriate time to start manoeuvring a car next to the memorial. Couldn’t even wait a couple of minutes. It made me think about some of the sites I’d visited over the last 18 months – Thiepval, Fromelles and Delville Wood. Amazing places to see, though very sad.