Somerset House is most definitely the place to be this coming week. Photo London marks its 10th anniversary this week with a special edition celebrating London and its rich traditions of photography.
The fair is back at Somerset House - which is celebrating its own 25th anniversary this year - and showcases the world’s leading galleries and artists. It’s a huge collection, so here to help you through Sophie Parker, the Director of Photo London, chooses some of her favourite galleries and works:
Ab-Anbar
I’m excited that Ab-Anbar will be joining us this year, the works they are presenting at the fair are a fantastic example of the variety of ways artists can use photography. Their booth is an exploration of landscapes from different perspectives, highlighting both global and personal histories. The artists including Nil Yalter and Mohammad Ghazali are a fantastic example of photography sitting very much in the realm of contemporary art.
WEBBER gallery
Brings a group show to Photo London reimagining representations of selfhood and human connection within their communities. Featuring beautiful Silver Gelatin prints by the American photographer and writer, Tee A. Corinne, the entire booth has a beautiful texture to it that needs to be experienced in person.
Euqinom
EUQINOM Gallery dedicates their booth to four women artists pushing the boundaries of photography. The work ranges from referencing some of the earliest forms of photography, such as the cyanotype, to work created by the artist interacting with an A.I chat bot. All works centre around ideas of identity and selfhood from different perspectives and processes. The booth includes photograms by Klea McKenna and cyanotypes by Adama Delphine Fawundu, which demonstrate a return to traditional techniques, and the celebration of the objectivity of a photograph as something to be seen in real life and to be experienced.
Emerging Photographer Award
Our Emerging Photographer Award was launched in 2015 for the inaugural Photo London to nurture and enable the development of early career photographic artists. This year’s shortlist features ten brilliant artists and is a fantastic reflection of the rich variety of the photographic medium. Following the shortlisted artists can be a great trail to guide you through the fair. The public can also have their say in who should win and can cast their votes for The People’s Choice award via the Photo London website.
Discovery
Discovery in its entirety is a highlight of the fair. This is our space dedicated to galleries less than eight years old, and this year curated, for the second time, by the brilliant Charlotte Jansen. Here you can see the future/ rising stars of the medium and it always feels very special. It is the perfect starting point for young collectors and many exhibitors in Discovery produce limited-edition smaller prints, which makes collecting approachable. Palm Studio always have a fantastic eye for emerging talent and I’m very excited to see Jesse Glazzard’s series documenting life of queer soldiers in the Ukraine and the incredible work of Bee Gats showing work for the first time in Europe with Mortal Machine Gallery from New Orleans, his work shows the everyday life experiences of underground communities of which he is part of.
London Lives
This year we have created a vast exhibition called ‘London Lives,’ reflecting the full range of photographic practices that can be found at Photo Londonand celebrating image making in the city over the last 60 years. Curated by critic and author Francis Hodgson, ‘London Lives’ features a dazzling array of creative responses to the City by around 30 of its leading image makers including David Bailey, Jamie Hawkesworth, Hannah Starkey, Rut Blees Luxemburg, Mary McCartney, Mitra Tabrizian and Nick Turpin.
Talks programme
We also have a fantastic talks programme, presenting 21 talks over the five days of the fair, including talks on Photojournalism, Documentary, Gender, Music and featuring starry names such as Don McCullin, Joel Meyerowitz and Zofia Kulik to newer voices such as Lucia Pizzani and Sakir Khader.
Lee Miller
Lee Miller Archive this year focuses on Miller’s time as a World War II correspondent, presenting original prints from Miller’s war reportage that many will recognise from scenes recreated in the movie LEE. I love Miller’s story, she worked as a freelance fashion photographer for British Vogue before becoming an accredited war correspondent with the US army in 1942. She worked closely with the Allies, and I can see the references to her editorial work in much of her approach to creating beautiful and powerful images fearlessly documenting life on the front-line.
David Hill
David Hill gallery brings prints previously unshown in the UK by Baldwin Lee, Alice Mann, Kyle Weeks and Kathy Shorr. Baldwin Lee’s work shows the intimate portrayal of daily life in the American South depicting childhood pleasures and the bonds between families and communities.
These works are shown alongside Alice Mann who spent four years photographing drum majorettes in Western Cape and Gauteng schools, capturing the strength, confidence, and pride of the girls. David Hill Gallery also presents visitors with an ‘on booth’ talk between Alice and Baldwin giving visitors the opportunity to learn more about their approach to photography whilst viewing the work.
