https://lauraalgar.com Laura Algar Fri, 06 Aug 2021 06:46:56 +0000 https://lauraalgar.com en https://lauraalgar.com/Nav Wed, 04 Aug 2021 08:23:59 +0000 Laura Algar https://lauraalgar.com/Nav ︎James Barnor: Accra/London – A RetrospectiveEXH<img width="1001" height="1001" width_o="1001" height_o="1001" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/20f996e72337d46d934467989e6e6887396a3e801b283945a739648712fe3dc2/CF_JB_BW10-1001x1001.jpeg" data-mid="115465881" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/20f996e72337d46d934467989e6e6887396a3e801b283945a739648712fe3dc2/CF_JB_BW10-1001x1001.jpeg" /> ︎Simon BakerTXT<img width="1138" height="1394" width_o="1138" height_o="1394" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dcd3ec687e07a0beb93f00d26cb23e5d02d3c050e82c67c1fb4612f5d13133ad/Screenshot-2021-08-04-at-15.01.29.png" data-mid="115387797" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/dcd3ec687e07a0beb93f00d26cb23e5d02d3c050e82c67c1fb4612f5d13133ad/Screenshot-2021-08-04-at-15.01.29.png" /> ︎Light Works: The Art of the PhotogramEXH<img width="600" height="720" width_o="600" height_o="720" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d3bcc501a25f8d8ba7aeb26bfce870614531388c599db517b53f1dd809e22e40/Floris.jpeg" data-mid="115383538" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/600/i/d3bcc501a25f8d8ba7aeb26bfce870614531388c599db517b53f1dd809e22e40/Floris.jpeg" /> ︎Ernst Haas: Reconstructing LondonEXH<img width="1684" height="1440" width_o="1684" height_o="1440" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/eac514425746b13a77717fa427ddecca6b6d18a99fc48f8b769ab817d8b5345d/AG_Exhibition_Haas_2.jpeg" data-mid="115549973" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/eac514425746b13a77717fa427ddecca6b6d18a99fc48f8b769ab817d8b5345d/AG_Exhibition_Haas_2.jpeg" /> ︎Dave ThanTXT<img width="5000" height="5000" width_o="5000" height_o="5000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fca179dd93895b446b0cf9b01e0053f222ae1315589cde694454f832fe8102de/CH_DT_021217_8.jpg" data-mid="115547635" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fca179dd93895b446b0cf9b01e0053f222ae1315589cde694454f832fe8102de/CH_DT_021217_8.jpg" /> ︎Marc Riboud: Paris to PekingEXH<img width="952" height="1440" width_o="952" height_o="1440" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/07a856530a585dee5c03e8d91696efd35e84cbd8c6a2613847714df1495eec43/AG_Exhibition_MarcRiboud_8.jpeg" data-mid="115383719" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/952/i/07a856530a585dee5c03e8d91696efd35e84cbd8c6a2613847714df1495eec43/AG_Exhibition_MarcRiboud_8.jpeg" /> ︎Antony CairnsTXT<img width="1092" height="1366" width_o="1092" height_o="1366" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d1b2a9445d9c938b4127c381fee3b32696eb8c98aa63408c261301038b5e5842/Screenshot-2021-08-04-at-15.17.43.png" data-mid="115387091" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d1b2a9445d9c938b4127c381fee3b32696eb8c98aa63408c261301038b5e5842/Screenshot-2021-08-04-at-15.17.43.png" /> ︎Danny Lyon: The BikeridersEXH<img width="2122" height="1440" width_o="2122" height_o="1440" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bd59a5bee05e4e5814db059d318b885120d7c6a67e4eb218cced57f9f5ad5a88/AG_Exhibition_DannyLyon_7.jpeg" data-mid="115383717" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bd59a5bee05e4e5814db059d318b885120d7c6a67e4eb218cced57f9f5ad5a88/AG_Exhibition_DannyLyon_7.jpeg" /> ︎Spring Revolutions: 1968, A Tale of Two CitiesEXH<img width="2182" height="1440" width_o="2182" height_o="1440" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/134e74b7056dd3abd6b9d57247e51693ca352995209d5fc9904fba86c0ef5de3/AG_Exhibition_SpringRevolutions_9.jpeg" data-mid="115383829" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/134e74b7056dd3abd6b9d57247e51693ca352995209d5fc9904fba86c0ef5de3/AG_Exhibition_SpringRevolutions_9.jpeg" /> ︎Natalia LL: ProbabilitiesEXH<img width="733" height="555" width_o="733" height_o="555" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b1f7772ac470ce7df94b0431f5ae04e6f4827289152c5a91a34b32f64339c1de/17799093_1279500285473826_42428104414300264_n.jpeg" data-mid="115365438" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/733/i/b1f7772ac470ce7df94b0431f5ae04e6f4827289152c5a91a34b32f64339c1de/17799093_1279500285473826_42428104414300264_n.jpeg" /> ︎Nick WaplingtonTXT<img width="1178" height="1472" width_o="1178" height_o="1472" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/41479a9886c7afd26f06ecb38e99b38607a84abbad23d61309bbb133dd2589db/Screenshot-2021-08-04-at-15.32.11.png" data-mid="115387971" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/41479a9886c7afd26f06ecb38e99b38607a84abbad23d61309bbb133dd2589db/Screenshot-2021-08-04-at-15.32.11.png" /> ︎Thomas Mailaender: UltravioletEXH<img width="682" height="1024" width_o="682" height_o="1024" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/027382b0ee20098827e8b430b682e4f6400737b427c79d64ea80839fcb7e83e9/ThomasMailaender.jpeg" data-mid="115382680" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/682/i/027382b0ee20098827e8b430b682e4f6400737b427c79d64ea80839fcb7e83e9/ThomasMailaender.jpeg" /> ︎Antony Cairns: ProcessEXH<img width="1960" height="1348" width_o="1960" height_o="1348" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5b4d2eaab17b1afa882d4b33dbd9ecaeaeb420918eb31ae3c5b5285e6c11f720/Screenshot-2021-08-04-at-14.48.37.png" data-mid="115383173" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5b4d2eaab17b1afa882d4b33dbd9ecaeaeb420918eb31ae3c5b5285e6c11f720/Screenshot-2021-08-04-at-14.48.37.png" /> https://lauraalgar.com/About-1 Wed, 04 Aug 2021 10:45:25 +0000 Laura Algar https://lauraalgar.com/About-1 Laura Algar <img width="3868" height="4837" width_o="3868" height_o="4837" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d4958ae399a595d6ad52e147cefee61d5abaabea4795ab2fc30eada69d531f15/Solar_1.jpg" data-mid="115389080" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d4958ae399a595d6ad52e147cefee61d5abaabea4795ab2fc30eada69d531f15/Solar_1.jpg" />is an independent writer, researcher and curator based in Norfolk. Most recently at the Serpentine, London, she worked as Curatorial Assistant on James Barnor: Accra/London, A Retrospective (2021), and as Editorial Assistant for the accompanying exhibition catalogue; she also produced research for numerous Serpentine projects and live events from 2016-2021. Sheproduced exhibitions at Roman Road, London, including Natalia LL: Probabilities (2016), Thomas Mailaender: Ultraviolet (2016) and Antony Cairns: Process (2016). As Assistant Curator at ATLAS Gallery, London, she worked closely alongside photographer and educator Floris Neusüss to curate Light Works: The Art of the Photogram (2016), where she also produced exhibitions Ernst Haas: Reconstructing London (2015), Marc Riboud: Paris to Peking (2015), Danny Lyon: The Bikeriders (2015), and Spring Revolutions: May 1968 - A Tale of Two Cities (2014).With with her husband, Graphic Designer Chris Algar, she created&nbsp;Photolocale;&nbsp;an online journal featuring interviews with London-based photographic artists. Since 2017 she has worked as a freelance researcher in the visual arts, whilst also copy-editing, providing transcription services and ghost/writing in the form of essays, catalogue texts, and articles for industry periodicals. Having been awarded a DYCP grant from&nbsp;Arts Council England in summer 2021, she undertook a period of research on arts intitiatives and practitioners across Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex under the title A Topography of Arts and Culture in East Anglia.&nbsp; E: Laura.algar (at) outlook.comM: +44 (0) 7960 852 989 https://lauraalgar.com/James-Barnor Wed, 04 Aug 2021 08:24:03 +0000 Laura Algar https://lauraalgar.com/James-Barnor James Barnor: Accra/London – A Retrospective <img width="6706" height="4471" width_o="6706" height_o="4471" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d305b6e8dce3906a9f1c040e536654e00553908b1f42ebde3f8c3a1c79b51167/9H3A5303.jpeg" data-mid="115470304" border="0" alt="James Barnor: Accra/London - A Retrospective (Installation view, 19 May &ndash; 24 October 2021, Serpentine) Photograph: Zoe Maxwell" data-caption="James Barnor: Accra/London - A Retrospective (Installation view, 19 May – 24 October 2021, Serpentine) Photograph: Zoe Maxwell" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d305b6e8dce3906a9f1c040e536654e00553908b1f42ebde3f8c3a1c79b51167/9H3A5303.jpeg" /> <img width="6556" height="4371" width_o="6556" height_o="4371" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8567dde438c28c9c8a4c7c5164c371306dca9a17e6df71e1ed5a8f4a0f2e3470/9H3A5017.jpg" data-mid="115554649" border="0" alt="James Barnor: Accra/London - A Retrospective (Installation view, 19 May &ndash; 24 October 2021, Serpentine) Photograph: Zoe Maxwell" data-caption="James Barnor: Accra/London - A Retrospective (Installation view, 19 May – 24 October 2021, Serpentine) Photograph: Zoe Maxwell" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8567dde438c28c9c8a4c7c5164c371306dca9a17e6df71e1ed5a8f4a0f2e3470/9H3A5017.jpg" /> Serpentine Galleries, London 19 May - 24 October 2021Role:Curatorial Assistant, (Exhibition) &amp;&nbsp;Editorial Assistant (Catalogue) Team: Lizzie Carey-Thomas, Chief CuratorAwa Konaté, Assistant CuratorMike Gaughan, Gallery ManagerJoel Bunn, Installation &amp; Production Manager The Serpentine presented a large-scale UK survey of British-Ghanaian photographer James Barnor, whose career spans six decades, two continents and numerous photographic genres by way of his work with studio portraiture, photojournalism, editorial commissions and wider social commentary. Barnor’s images are that of flux and transition. Moving frequently between societies working through post-war and pre/post-colonial contexts, he documented Ghana’s rise to independence and the experiences of a vivid and burgeoning diaspora in London during the Swinging Sixties. Barnor’s career is also one of firsts: widely recognised as Ghana’s first photojournalist, he also established the first colour laboratory in the country. Barnor was born into a family of photographers, learning his trade via an apprenticeship with his cousin J. P. Dodoo. His early work resisted the rigid formalities often associated with studio portraiture, becoming progressively more candid as he ventured out into the world around him. His adoption of smaller handheld cameras evidenced the increasing democratisation of photography taking place across the continent and indeed the world over, and ultimately led to an invitation to work for the Daily Graphic. Barnor was the first photojournalist to collaborate with the Daily Graphic, uniquely directing his own stories along with the documentation of other news and sporting events. Whilst photography was not new to Ghana, the arrival of the Daily Graphic in 1950 was the first time its population saw the daily events of their nation depicted visually. Barnor’s continuing practice grew organically, without professional lighting he staged portraits outside in the sub-Saharan sun, developing and printing from a small makeshift darkroom in his aunt’s home. His move to a former bar in the Jamestown district of Accra in 1953 marked the formal opening of his inaugural photographic studio Ever Young. Speaking of the studio, Barnor said “I never chose many subjects, they just came.” The vibrancy of Ever Young is hard to summarise briefly; a space for people from all walks of life, for friends, newlyweds, musicians, activists and politicians, Barnor immortalised a generation craving modernity and those shaping new identities during the struggle towards independence. Visitors would be greeted by music and song, with the Highlife genre peaking in popularity in Ghana during the 50’s. A melding of African, African American and European musical aesthetics, artists such as provided the soundtrack to Barnor’s photographic career. Likened by Barnor to a community centre, his studio was a veritable hive of activity wrapped up in the cultural zeitgeist of excitement and promise. Barnor also worked for Drum magazine. Founded in South Africa in 1951, Drum quickly underwent considerable transformation under the sole proprietorship of Jim Bailey. A hugely influential and anti-apartheid platform, it was a symbol of Black urban life and politics, becoming the most widely read publication in Africa at the time. Bailey and Barnor became close friends and perhaps most notably, working under assignment in the UK, Barnor worked to place Black British models on the covers of the publication back in Africa. Bailey’s unique brand of conviviality and informality pulsed through the Drum community with parties sometimes impromptu, but always legendary. One gathering was organised by Barnor at his studio, with another on the beach where he recounts “people were swimming under the moon.” Three years after Ghana gained its independence, Barnor was awarded with a grant to fund study overseas in the UK. During his decade in London he continued to work freelance for Drum, and honed his skills by attending evening courses at the London College of Printing, before enrolling at Medway College of Art in Rochester where he was introduced to colour photography. One of the few African studio photographers to leave the continent prior to the 1960s for Europe to practice and to study, Barnor was also at the forefront of major photographic innovation. A modest yet irrepressible desire to impart and pool knowledge saw him return in 1969 to Ghana with his family, to establish the first colour processing laboratory in the country the following year. There he stayed for the next 20 years, establishing Studio X23 as an independent photographer and for a handful of State agencies in Accra. Barnor’s exhibition follows a recent number of retrospectives at the Serpentine celebrating the work of living artists only now finding wider international acclaim later in their careers. Born in 1929 in Accra, Ghana. Barnor moved to the UK in 1959. He returned to Ghana ten years later, before settling in London in 1994 where he has resided ever since. Now retired, Barnor devotes most of his time to the ongoing digitisation and exhibition of his substantial archive. https://lauraalgar.com/Light-Works Thu, 05 Aug 2021 15:16:05 +0000 Laura Algar https://lauraalgar.com/Light-Works Light Works: The Art of the Photogram <img width="1612" height="1200" width_o="1612" height_o="1200" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9615bf861213760ffbccd7ab447353719d113ef43a9a84ea1efa1b1ba376df18/Screenshot-2021-08-09-at-11.11.10.png" data-mid="115709215" border="0" alt="Tom Fels, Arbor 8-10-14, Nos. 3 &amp; 4, 2014" data-caption="Tom Fels, Arbor 8-10-14, Nos. 3 &amp; 4, 2014" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9615bf861213760ffbccd7ab447353719d113ef43a9a84ea1efa1b1ba376df18/Screenshot-2021-08-09-at-11.11.10.png" /> <img width="670" height="440" width_o="670" height_o="440" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4c05e5383ef13123be37670834fbfd038b994a864efc9b8b581cd4b75ba44f9d/WEB_LIGHTWORKS_006_670.jpg" data-mid="115476395" border="0" alt="Courtesy ATLAS Gallery &copy; Laura Algar" data-caption="Courtesy ATLAS Gallery © Laura Algar" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/670/i/4c05e5383ef13123be37670834fbfd038b994a864efc9b8b581cd4b75ba44f9d/WEB_LIGHTWORKS_006_670.jpg" /> <img width="1608" height="1048" width_o="1608" height_o="1048" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/df2d849c986f168592c6a3df09ed998b25edb2b098cc4dffea3a9842d4083928/Screenshot-2021-08-09-at-12.04.37.png" data-mid="115713699" border="0" alt="Courtesy ATLAS Gallery &copy; Laura Algar" data-caption="Courtesy ATLAS Gallery © Laura Algar" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/df2d849c986f168592c6a3df09ed998b25edb2b098cc4dffea3a9842d4083928/Screenshot-2021-08-09-at-12.04.37.png" /> <img width="670" height="440" width_o="670" height_o="440" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2f8ebddcb42271eded5e6b4e5eeefd806ec06330ce59179ab9588ef1b6142caf/WEB_LIGHTWORKS_005_670.jpg" data-mid="115476396" border="0" alt="Courtesy ATLAS Gallery &copy; Laura Algar" data-caption="Courtesy ATLAS Gallery © Laura Algar" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/670/i/2f8ebddcb42271eded5e6b4e5eeefd806ec06330ce59179ab9588ef1b6142caf/WEB_LIGHTWORKS_005_670.jpg" /> <img width="670" height="440" width_o="670" height_o="440" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2e01528713dbdc9e7fc1b930b5ac260994ec888aec87b9b3a35d44ff2f54209f/WEB_LIGHTWORKS_004_670.jpg" data-mid="115476392" border="0" alt="Courtesy ATLAS Gallery &copy; Laura Algar" data-caption="Courtesy ATLAS Gallery © Laura Algar" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/670/i/2e01528713dbdc9e7fc1b930b5ac260994ec888aec87b9b3a35d44ff2f54209f/WEB_LIGHTWORKS_004_670.jpg" /> Paris Photo, Grand Palais, Paris 12 – 15 November 2015 ATLAS Gallery, London 27 November 2015 – 13 February 2016 Role: Curator &amp; Researcher Team: Ben Burdett, Gallery Director Jim Edwards, Gallery Manager With thanks to:Floris Neusüss; Yorick Blumenfeld; Etherton Gallery, USA; Galerie Julian Sander, Germany; Galerie Kicken, Germany; HackelBury Fine Art, UK; Robert Klein Gallery, USA. Using one of the first published photograms as a catalyst, Light Works examines the work of historical photographic protagonists to demonstrate the longstanding impact of the medium, starting with its origins as an artform in the early 20th century through to its continuing influence on contemporary practice. Photograms are a cameraless photographic technique created by placing objects directly onto light-sensitive paper and exposing the arrangement to a light source. The resulting forms are defined by the varying ways in which the shape of an item restricts light reaching the paper beneath it; with factors such as sharpness and contrast wholly dependant on the opacity of the object and its proximity to the paper.The photogram process shares its chemistry with conventional photography but aesthetically the two forms are vastly different: photographs produce a familiar representation of our surroundings as we view them; conversely, photograms consist of inverted shadows that float abstractly in free space, with no perspective or horizon. Due to the considerable ease of method, there are countless photogram experiments by both artists and amateurs alike, and whilst examples were created as early as the very first photographs by the likes of Fox-Talbot, it was from the late 1910s that its use as a means of artistic expression gained significant interest amongst avant-garde circles. The exhibition begins by presenting the work of Christian Schad, who was creating cameraless work from around 1918, with one example printed in Tristan Tzara’s Dadaist periodical Dadaphone in 1920. Seen as both anti-painting due to its autonomy; and anti-photography due to a reluctance to conform to traditional photographic representation, his photograms using detritus from around the city delighted Dada sensibilities. Tzara termed these works Schadographs and deemed the importance of them so great that he later, unbeknownst to Schad, loaned five pieces for inclusion in MoMA’s first ever photography retrospective: Photography, 1839-1937. Curator Beaumont Newhall went on to credit Schad in MoMA’s accompanying catalogue as the probable originator of the photogram as artform, even before other practitioners more commonly associated such as Man Ray and László Moholy-Nagy; however, their contrasting schools of thought did drive the medium forward in two very different yet important directions: via the Surrealists in Paris, and with the Constructivists in Germany.Included in the exhibition are several works from a larger portfolio of 12 pieces by Man Ray, an artist who has become almost synonymous with the photogram and a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. Whilst Man Ray never acknowledged Schad’s influence, it is most likely that he was aware of his work through Tzara’s advocacy. Utilising the same cameraless process, he termed his creations Rayographs. Led by poet André Breton from 1924 through World War II, Surrealism refused more rational thought in preference of automatism which they believed brought them closer to a more authentic self; with photography acting as a perfect mechanical vehicle for such aims; its members practiced the experimental use of words and language and often used found objects and materials within their work. Whilst Surrealists valued dreams and the subconscious mind, these ideas were also present within the Dada movement which preceded it; however, the ideas of the former were intrinsically influenced by the texts and theories of psychologist Sigmund Freud. At the same point in time, Moholy-Nagy was recruited by Walter Gropius for the Bauhaus in Weimar. Constructivism, and indeed the Bauhaus ideology looked to re-establish a relationship between art and industry through adherence to the practical application of aesthetics. Moholy-Nagy taught within the metal workshop and it was his outsider approach to photography that provided a plethora of inspiration, including the establishment of his New Vision (or Neue Optik), which served to affirm the camera as an extension of our vision; an optical prosthesis which allows one to see in an entirely new way. The exhibition includes a photogram from 1925, an important moment for Moholy-Nagy and the Bauhaus as both moved from Weimar to Dessau. Moholy-Nagy’s overwhelming significance and contribution to photography is impossible to summarise briefly. A close peer and contemporary of Moholy-Nagy, György Kepes became familiar with the ideals of New Vision during frequent collaboration and infact, when the Bauhaus closed in Germany due to mounting political pressure, Moholy-Nagy immigrated to the UK and established a studio in London, where Kepes soon joined him. Moholy-Nagy went on to establish the Chicago School of Design in the USA in 1937, appointing Kepes as the head of department for Colour &amp; Light. Kepes is often discussed in tandem with Moholy-Nagy but is an extraordinary artist entirely independent of their work together, with a definitively scientific approach to his practice. Kepes also thought of himself as a painter and he revived many older photographic processes to create more painterly effects. One such example presented in the exhibition is decalcomania, in which a viscous solution of ink and casein could be pressed between glass plates to produce unpredictable patterns. Whilst working in Chicago, Kepes went on to teach generations of influential graphic designers including Saul Bass, and later founded the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT. Photograms by Floris Neusüss are presented alongside Moholy-Nagy for the first time since their work was jointly exhibited at Europa Centrum, Berlin, in 1966. Neusüss is one of the most important artists working with the photogram today, dedicating his entire career to the study of the medium; he has exhibited widely, written extensively and contributed to the curation and research of numerous exhibitions. Appointed in 1971 as Professor of Experimental Photography, Neusüss’ tenure at the University of Kassel, Germany, saw him establish Fotoforum as part of the curriculum, which consisted of a gallery, a collection and a platform for editorial output. He together with his wife Renate Heyne are the authority on the photogram, even co-authoring the catalogue raisoneé of Moholy-Nagy’s photogram works. Neusüss has brought renewed ambition to the photogram process in both scale and visual treatment with his Körperbild series, first exhibited in the 1960s and included in this exhibition. He acknowledges the strong influence of both Moholy-Nagy and Man Ray on his own practice, and an example of allowing chance into his work is illustrated in a piece from his Gewitterbild series. Under the cover of darkness, Neusüss takes sheets of photographic paper out into his garden, placing it beneath trees and shrubs, where he waits patiently for the climactic moment when lightning strikes and exposes his paper, leaving a ghostly record of the foliage behind. Neusüss was one of 5 artists exhibited as part of the Shadow Catchers exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, in 2011. Artists exhibited:Berenice Abbott, Werner Bischof, Erwin Blumenfeld, Richard Caldicott, Tom Fels, Peter Keetman, György Kepes, Alexander Khlebnikov, William Klein, Hans Kupelweiser, Lázló Maholy-Nagy, E.L.T Mesens, Floris Neusüss, Man Ray, Christian Schad, Pablo Picasso and Andre Villers. https://lauraalgar.com/Natalia-LL Wed, 04 Aug 2021 08:24:04 +0000 Laura Algar https://lauraalgar.com/Natalia-LL Natalia LL: Probabilities <img width="946" height="711" width_o="946" height_o="711" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/697256e00f55b40bf78f60284eda062a73e5d872cdcce016639100ef58102c45/Natalia-LL-Probabilities-installation-view-Roman-Road-London-04-November-2016-14-January-2017.--Ollie-Hammick_3-946x711.jpg" data-mid="115461734" border="0" alt="Courtesy of Roman Road and the artist. &copy; Ollie Hammick" data-caption="Courtesy of Roman Road and the artist. © Ollie Hammick" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/946/i/697256e00f55b40bf78f60284eda062a73e5d872cdcce016639100ef58102c45/Natalia-LL-Probabilities-installation-view-Roman-Road-London-04-November-2016-14-January-2017.--Ollie-Hammick_3-946x711.jpg" /> <img width="944" height="711" width_o="944" height_o="711" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/79437876a5ec71f0029ae0bd5178336f4ac66c3bf353f32459f7a051bb0f99c5/Natalia-LL-Probabilities-installation-view-Roman-Road-London-04-November-2016-14-January-2017.--Ollie-Hammick_1-944x711.jpg" data-mid="115461736" border="0" alt="Courtesy of Roman Road and the artist. &copy; Ollie Hammick" data-caption="Courtesy of Roman Road and the artist. © Ollie Hammick" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/944/i/79437876a5ec71f0029ae0bd5178336f4ac66c3bf353f32459f7a051bb0f99c5/Natalia-LL-Probabilities-installation-view-Roman-Road-London-04-November-2016-14-January-2017.--Ollie-Hammick_1-944x711.jpg" /> Roman Road, London 4 November 2016 – 14 January 2017 Role:Exhibition Coordinator &amp; Co-curator Team: Marisa Bellani, Gallery Director Jennifer Angus,&nbsp;Communications Director Roman Road is very pleased to introduce Natalia LL, an artist of the Polish feminist avant-garde, to the London art scene with a solo exhibition entitled Probabilities that focuses on some of her early series. Created in the 1970s, the show presents framed photographs and videos from the artist’s notorious Consumer Art and Post-consumer Art, in which she drew attention to the issues of consumer culture and the status of women in the then society. The exhibition also features a unique installation of Natalia LL’s NATALIA!, which has been specially printed as a vinyl that measures the full height of the walls. Through the exploration of her subjectivity, Natalia LL developed radical visual archives that embody a dynamic feminist personality. For her series Consumer Art and Post-consumer Art, she employed the ambiguous supports of photography and video to challenge the stereotypical, masculinised image of the female role and to criticise the commodification of women in pornography. In Consumer Art we find young, attractive women eating a variety of suggestive foods, such as bananas, hot dogs and jelly. Unlike pornography, the women here are seen as active protagonists rather than passive objects of male pleasure. Symbolised by the various phallic fruits and meats, the masculine element becomes a mere product for consumption. In the ensuing Post-consumer Art works, the models’ hands are empty; the foods have been consumed and they are pictured delighting in the remains. Among the presentation of her Consumer Art and Post-consumer Art pieces, the exhibition highlights NATALIA!, another early work by the artist in which she rearranged the letters of her first name to construct new words. Jumbled into over 5000 new possibilities, the artist’s name, a fragment of her identity, is at once manifested and deconstructed within the boundaries of the work. Through an act of intuitive intervention and multiplication, this work can, among other things, be seen as a projection of her subjectivity, which unfolds through the creative process. https://lauraalgar.com/Thomas-Mailaender Wed, 04 Aug 2021 13:39:05 +0000 Laura Algar https://lauraalgar.com/Thomas-Mailaender Thomas Mailaender: Ultraviolet <img width="1674" height="1242" width_o="1674" height_o="1242" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cfa7ca5a12392c57f439b6f2746a4791f698027691cccc2ce60a13675f12bdfb/Screenshot-2021-08-06-at-16.54.25.png" data-mid="115557523" border="0" alt="Thomas Mailaender, Illustrated People, 2013" data-caption="Thomas Mailaender, Illustrated People, 2013" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/cfa7ca5a12392c57f439b6f2746a4791f698027691cccc2ce60a13675f12bdfb/Screenshot-2021-08-06-at-16.54.25.png" /> <img width="1065" height="711" width_o="1065" height_o="711" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ec334c4cc715e7710b810a9aaee62e7b6700c626b1e6b14eb4a7caa7af6bc909/Thomas-Mailaender-Ultraviolet-installaton-view-Roman-Road-Booth-A1-Paris-Photo-Paris-10-13-November-2016.--Victoire-Eouzan-1065x711.jpg" data-mid="115557225" border="0" alt="Courtesy of Roman Road and the artist. &copy; Victoire Eouzan" data-caption="Courtesy of Roman Road and the artist. © Victoire Eouzan" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ec334c4cc715e7710b810a9aaee62e7b6700c626b1e6b14eb4a7caa7af6bc909/Thomas-Mailaender-Ultraviolet-installaton-view-Roman-Road-Booth-A1-Paris-Photo-Paris-10-13-November-2016.--Victoire-Eouzan-1065x711.jpg" /> <img width="486" height="1024" width_o="486" height_o="1024" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bc22a959cc7acd00775d60ecaa97c13201c1f812f186f02a26bb89f4f5964e25/71129ed57d3ec0d898e711024e7afbf3-486x1024.jpeg" data-mid="115557902" border="0" alt="Courtesy of Roman Road and the artist. &copy; Victoire Eouzan" data-caption="Courtesy of Roman Road and the artist. © Victoire Eouzan" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/486/i/bc22a959cc7acd00775d60ecaa97c13201c1f812f186f02a26bb89f4f5964e25/71129ed57d3ec0d898e711024e7afbf3-486x1024.jpeg" /> Paris Photo, Grand Palais, Paris 10 – 13 November 2016 Role:Exhibition Coordinator &amp; Co-curator Team: Marisa Bellani, Gallery Director Jennifer Angus, Communications Coordinator Roman Road is pleased to be participating at Paris Photo this year with a solo booth by Thomas Mailaender entitled Ultraviolet. Bringing together two well-known series by the artist – Illustrated People (2013) and Cyanotypes (2013 – present) – our booth explores Mailaender’s innovative approaches to photography and the possibilities of printing with ultraviolet light. Mailaender’s Illustrated People was developed in collaboration with The Archive of Modern Conflict (AMC), London – a collection that comprises photographic documents from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and houses over four million amateur and professional photographs. Focusing on photographs from WWII, he positioned original negatives upon the bodies of volunteers he recruited and sat them under a powerful UV lamp until a positive image was revealed. The resulting photographs of these performances uncover the archived images pronounced through patches of bright red, sunburnt skin. Together with his Illustrated People works, our booth presents a varied collection of Mailaender’s unique Cyanotypes. These blue-hued photographs, also made through exposure to ultraviolet light, manifest images taken from the artist’s ‘Fun Archive’: a personal collection of bizarre and anonymous pictures gleaned from the Internet. Mounted upon plasterboards measuring 250 x 120 cm, his largest works feature found images that draw attention to the often-absurd nature of human behaviour today. https://lauraalgar.com/Antony-Cairns-EXH Wed, 04 Aug 2021 13:48:59 +0000 Laura Algar https://lauraalgar.com/Antony-Cairns-EXH Antony Cairns: Process Photo London, Somerset House, London 19 - 22 May 2016 Role:Exhibition Coordinator &amp; Co-curator Team: Marisa Bellani, Gallery Director Jennifer Angus, Communications Director Featuring a selection of aluminium silver gelatin coated plates as well as works from his E.I. Totem (2015) series, the stand at Photo London 2016 presents the latest developments in Antony Cairns’ contemporary practice and explores his innovative approaches to photographic printing. Cairns’ interest in photography does not only lie in the content of his imagery, but moreover in the layering and evolution of the process. Originating as black and white negatives on film, he began developing his pictures of cities at night on aluminium sheets, employing the spills and imperfections of the complex process to produce intricate, abstract photographs. Alongside a collection of these individual works, the display presents selected pieces from his LDN3 (2014) the third instalment of his ongoing series taken in new urban spaces in London.Inspired by the results of his recent publication LDN EI (2015) – a digital photobook made from recycled e-book tablets – Cairns has further created a collection of works that show his imagery captured within e-ink screens. Displayed at our booth upon wooden plinths, the screens are encapsulated in specially made Perspex frames to form his E.I. Totem series. https://lauraalgar.com/Antony-Cairns-TXT Wed, 04 Aug 2021 14:04:54 +0000 Laura Algar https://lauraalgar.com/Antony-Cairns-TXT Interview:Antony Cairns <img width="1808" height="896" width_o="1808" height_o="896" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/31ff5ccac0740b5214c442a4a6383db914baad4ff1a96dcdd61bebbb7c2b97e1/Screenshot-2021-08-06-at-14.48.48.png" data-mid="115549304" border="0" alt="Antony Cairns, Courtesy Photolocale &copy; Clare Hewitt" data-caption="Antony Cairns, Courtesy Photolocale © Clare Hewitt" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/31ff5ccac0740b5214c442a4a6383db914baad4ff1a96dcdd61bebbb7c2b97e1/Screenshot-2021-08-06-at-14.48.48.png" /> Publication:Photolocale Role:Author, EditorArt DirectorShoot Coordinator Team:Chris Algar, DesignerClare Hewitt, Photographer Antony Cairns spends much of his time stalking the city during the early hours. Due to the growing privatisation of public space, his twilight excursions have become the only way of capturing images without confrontation from patrolling security guards. His work primarily focuses on new urban developments, the buildings of which are rapidly replacing historical structures and casting new shadows across our city. Interestingly, it is those shadows which are so dominant in Cairns’ work, exacerbated by the fluorescent tubes so heavily utilised to both light and survey us at night. Using homemade chemical recipes, Cairns pushes and pulls his resulting transparencies to within an inch of their original likeness, coaxing out indexical signs left by the city. His buildings radiate a white-hot bleakness which burn their omnipresence onto the film without need for a camera, whilst beads of polluted grain pool and streak across the frame. It is as though one is peering through a glass fragment from the exact kaleidoscopic complex being photographed, an obsidian mirror image. Exuding a detached cynicism, Cairns is not documenting contemporary architecture, instead, his caricatures of the city allude to narratives that would be more at home on the pages of the sci-fi novels he enjoys so much. Cairns’ work is perhaps best understood in two strands. Firstly; his archive of slides depicting the somewhat interchangeable landscapes of cities like London, New York and Tokyo; Secondly, his fervent exploration of process, and witty manipulation of varying materials and defunct technology to display his repository of images. Cairns repeatedly strips image from object, only to forcibly meld the two back together as lo-fi photo-objects. For his ongoing E.I. series, Cairns digitises his transparencies and uploads the files onto hacked first generation Kindles, where a current in the device stimulates the Electronic Ink, exciting it into different arrangements for text and image. Wrenching the screen out of its casing fixes the ink permanently within the glass, killing off any interface and creating glitchy digital daguerreotypes. Instead of existing as portals to communicate images, the screens solidify into inert photographic symbols. View full article https://lauraalgar.com/Nick-Waplington Fri, 06 Aug 2021 06:34:11 +0000 Laura Algar https://lauraalgar.com/Nick-Waplington Interview: Nick Waplington <img width="2500" height="1519" width_o="2500" height_o="1519" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dee5003c13d2962622e194b89bbaebf0c866a1c377a9f65821dda7c65cfb6d0e/NickWaplington.jpg" data-mid="115548902" border="0" alt="Nick Waplington, Courtesy Photolocale &copy; Phil Hewitt" data-caption="Nick Waplington, Courtesy Photolocale © Phil Hewitt" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/dee5003c13d2962622e194b89bbaebf0c866a1c377a9f65821dda7c65cfb6d0e/NickWaplington.jpg" /> Publication:Photolocale Role:Author, EditorArt DirectorShoot Coordinator Team:Chris Algar, DesignerPhil Hewitt, Photographer Based between London and New York, Nick is frequently traversing the Atlantic, but his adolescence was spent here, during London’s post punk era, skateboarding at the Southbank Centre’s undercroft and creating his own fanzines. Sensibilities of the time have stayed with him well into adulthood: Nick is sharp, resolutely independent- and funny. In Nick’s Hackney studio we’re flanked by pillars of stacked vinyl and an imposing bookshelf, full of artist books, exhibition catalogues and classic literature. He has an impressive back catalogue of books himself, over 20 to date, with several more following soon. Nick found early success with the publication of Living Room, a project he began when only 17 years old, portraying families residing in the same Nottingham housing estate as his paternal relatives. Always looking for inspiration from the world around him, his intimate colour imagery was scorned by a traditional college faculty, but Nick characteristically broke convention when it exploded years later, the book contributing to the radical development of contemporary British photography. Nick has always carved out opportunity and sought creative challenges, as such, his is an immensely diverse practice. Following an expletive-filled epiphany at the 1993 Venice Biennale, Nick sought to diversify his output, proceeding to exhibit photographs, paintings, drawings and sculptures despite resisting traditional gallery representation. Nick’s process is porous. Constantly revisiting previous work, his ideas exist in parallel, on top of and across all projects. Whilst creating work in Israel, Nick was simultaneously travelling back to the London studio of close friend Alexander McQueen to produce a series of images which became known as Working Process. Concerned with his own legacy, Alexander tasked Nick with capturing the creation of what he deemed his last collection as a young man. Nick himself is older and wiser, whilst his dynamic 30 year career shows no sign of slowing anytime soon. Families are a recurring theme in Nick’s work, whether found in a Nottingham housing estate, or residing in the West Bank. Now with a young family of his own, he has turned his attention to documenting their daily lives. Nick’s focus, it appears, has come full circle. &nbsp; View full article https://lauraalgar.com/Simon-Baker Fri, 06 Aug 2021 06:46:56 +0000 Laura Algar https://lauraalgar.com/Simon-Baker Interview: Simon Baker <img width="2500" height="1519" width_o="2500" height_o="1519" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2212cf503799f8d8ae45f407896af339e0dc5bbb8be38c7eb9dbf9dc39a9741c/SimonBaker_Photolocale_09_10_LR_HeaderCrop.jpg" data-mid="115545998" border="0" alt="Simon Baker, Courtesy Photolocale &copy; Phil Hewitt" data-caption="Simon Baker, Courtesy Photolocale © Phil Hewitt" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2212cf503799f8d8ae45f407896af339e0dc5bbb8be38c7eb9dbf9dc39a9741c/SimonBaker_Photolocale_09_10_LR_HeaderCrop.jpg" /> Publication:Photolocale Role:Author, EditorArt Director Shoot Coordinator Team:Chris Algar, DesignerPhil Hewitt, Photographer Nearly nine years ago in an eagerly anticipated appointment, Simon Baker stepped into post as Tate’s first dedicated photography curator. The announcement, and subsequent flurry of press coverage, both acknowledged and accentuated a longstanding disconnect between photography and other artforms within the institution, echoes of an archaic hierarchy ringing out throughout its galleries. Tate’s recent curatorial appointments (compare with those in western photography epicentres New York and Paris), along with an updated programming and display ethos, demonstrated its renewed commitment to the medium. Tate went on to stage a total of 17 major exhibitions addressing photographic practice from 2009-2018, increasing from only 10 in the 20 years prior. An acquisitions committee was established in 2010, where its work has helped the museum to quadruple its photographic holdings in just four years.Simon leaves for pastures new as director for the Maison Europeene de la Photographie in Paris. His is not Tate’s only recent departure— the other half of the institution’s much admired photo duo announced their departure only two weeks earlier, initiating a substantial shake-up of the department, but not before they had cemented photography’s place in the galleries. “The need to continually push and argue for photography? This argument has been won at Tate” asserts Simon; however, he still believes there is more work to be done for photography beyond Tate, a task and responsibility for London's wider art ecosystem.View full article