Sticker Blues – A Reflection on Lloyd Corporation’s Appropriation of Street Notices
For weeks on my way to the station I would walk past a lamp post with a sticker proudly proclaiming…
Cherelle Sappleton – Among Other Things
“I fear what I’ll never be, I fear what I’ll never see,I take in what they throw out, I take…
Take Me To The Water – Photographs of River Baptisms
“You would have to have a heart of tin not to recognize this as one of the happiest collections of…
Birds of Paradise – Interrogating Notions of Gender in the Photography of Daniel Handal, Sara Davidmann, and Victoria Holguín.
How can photography enact social change? How can it be used as a tool by marginalised groups to advocate for…
Moral Panic – The Selfie As Photography Out of Place
There is something about selfies that puts our knickers in a twist. Eminent photography collector W.H. Hunt notes in despair…
We Watch Them Go By – Miners, Mobsters, Masculinity and Marion Post Wolcott
It is the car. It must be the car. The casual posture of the men. The clothes. The high-waisted trousers, the brimmed hats. The building in the background, with its white timber slats. When I first studied this photograph by Marion Post Wolcott, I scribbled down that it reminded me of the key scene in the film Road to Perdition (Sam Mendes, 2002).
Some Thoughts on the Politics of Portrait Photography
This text is an adaptation of a talk I presented at Photofusion on Thursday 5 July 2018. My presentation accompanied…
For Dutch Eyes Only – Foto’s om van te watertanden?
Stillevens zijn er in vele geuren, kleuren, soorten en maten, maar de meeste hebben gemeenschappelijk dat voedsel de hoofdmoot van…
La Vie En Rose – A Take On Leo Maguire’s Project ‘Rosa’
Studying the images included in Rosa, I started to idly ponder the relationship between photography, voyeurism, and the military-industrial complex….
Can You Hear My Body Talk? A Look At Katinka Goldberg’s ‘Bristningar’
“If you could lay on your back for me, then I can put everything to rights.” He slipped his hands…
Dana Lixenberg’s Magnum Opus: ‘Imperial Courts 1993-2015’
Perhaps the most heart-rending realisation after viewing Imperial Courts 1993–2015 by Dana Lixenberg is that it contains just one portrait…
For Dutch Eyes Only – Geef Ons Heden Ons Dagelijks Brood. Een Drieakter. Tweede akte. Hannah Collins – The Fragile Feast.
Tweede akte. Hannah Collins – The Fragile Feast. Zonovergoten. Dat is het woord dat als eerste in me opkomt bij…
For Dutch Eyes Only – Zoe Leonard’s ‘You See I Am Here After All’
Het is een uitdaging, deze titel. Durf mijn bestaan, mijn aanwezigheid maar eens te ontkennen. Het bewijs is immers zichtbaar,…
For Dutch Eyes Only – Up Close and Personal: Satoshi Fujiwara’s ‘Code Unknown’
De man lijkt een perfecte belichaming van de literaire personages Dr. Jekyll en Mr. Hyde. De linkerhelft van zijn gezicht…
The Wonderful World of Bucky Miller
Confronted with a picture of a broom stuck upside down in the tarmac in the broiling sunlight, my mind starts…
For Dutch Eyes Only – Geef ons heden ons dagelijks brood. Een drieakter. Eerste akte. Michael Schmidt – ‘Lebensmittel’
Eerste akte. Michael Schmidt – Lebensmittel Lebensmittel. De titel klinkt droog en zakelijk. En ook een tikkeltje arrogant. Immers, niet…
For Dutch Eyes Only – Steven’s Shore’s Food Porn Avant La Lettre
Het lijkt zo’n makkelijke foto. Eentje die door miljoenen mensen iedere dag gemaakt en gedeeld wordt op social media. Kijk…
The Crashing Of The Waves – A Personal Response To Isaac Julien’s ‘Ten Thousand Waves’
When I lived in the north west of the UK, the Morecambe Bay tragedy was one of those things that…
The Medium is the Message – Some Ruminations on the Work of Ren Hang
Ren Hang’s work is in demand. Not only that, the artist is incredibly successful in meeting that demand. This year…
Dreamy Reality – On the Key Scenes in Peaky Blinders
“This place is under new management by order of the Peaky Blinders!” Thus shouts Arthur Shelby covered in blood and…
Let’s Get It On – A Look At Carrie Mae Weems’ ‘Afro Chic’
“The work tells you what form it needs to take.” Carrie Mae Weems, in conversation with Dawood Bey in Bomb…
Framing the Gaze – On Arthur Rothstein’s ‘Artelia’
It seems such a simple picture that I almost immediately dismiss it out of hand. A young black girl is…
Forever Lost In Transit – An Artist Profile of Piotr Zbierski
The sun blazing into the frame, the boy lying on the blanket in the grass, the girl showering after a…
The Emperor’s New Clothes – A Look at Charlotte Lybeer’s, Steve Schofield’s and Klaus Pichler’s Projects
As is so often the case, it is the title that draws me in. The Furtastic Adventures of the Cabbit…
Finding a Form for Feelings – On Manon Wertenbroek’s Collaboration with her Brother
A white frame floats in mid-air. A man looks through it, staring into the middle distance. His bodily contours are…
A ‘Real Page Turner’ in this LA Fiction – Philip Brookman’s ‘Redlands’
It is a description that I would not normally associate with photography books, but Philip Brookman’s Redlands is a real…
The Need To Take A Stand – A Review Of ‘The Long Road: From Selma To Ferguson’
“There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down Brothers on the instant replay.” From The Revolution Will Not Be…
Photography on the Verge of Disaster – A New Way to Look at the Work of LaToya Ruby Frazier
Good photography perturbs. It makes you look, scratch your head, think about it, think about it some more, then look…
Shotgun Review: Onorato & Krebs’ ‘Raise the Bar’
On an early Saturday morning as last night’s fog is still dissipating, two young Swiss men slowly make their way…
Shotgun Review – Bieke Depoorter’s ‘I am about to call it a day’
For this project Bieke Depoorter (b.1986) travelled extensively through the United States from 2010 to 2014. Depoorter recently joined the…
A Busman’s Holiday – Wouter Cool’s Journey through the United States
Ever since Robert Frank published his seminal work The Americans in 1958, the American Road Trip has become a staple…
To Forever Die, Gracefully – Final Moments Witnessed by Robert Capa and Chris Marker
“[A] still, which allows one to linger over a single moment as long as one likes, contradicts the very form…
Summer Nights, Walking – A Personal Understanding of Robert Adams’ Seminal Work
This cool night air is curious Let the whole world look in Who cares who sees anything… Deftones – Passenger…
This Song, A City – A Conversation with Petra Noordkamp and Laura van Rijs
The city has long been a prime hunting ground for photographers. Weegee roamed the streets in search of crime scenes….
It’s Magic – A Conversation with Synchrodogs
It is an image I keep returning to. A young woman, naked and entirely wrapped in plastic, posing against a…
In Search of Time Lost – An Insight into the World of Alice Quaresma
The waves gently lap a sun-kissed beach, and white triangles litter the landscape. The horizon shimmers in the distance, whilst…
Fighting the Battle for the Mind of North America – David Cronenberg: The Exhibition
David Cronenberg – The Exhibition, currently at EYE Amsterdam, is dark and sinister. And that is a compliment. Walking into…
There Is More to it than Meets the Eye- An Artist Profile of Jessica Eaton
Green ball meets black cube sat on red floor which borders blue wall. Pink box hides in red cube concealed…
The Medium Is the Message? An Artist Profile of Joshua Citarella
Joshua Citarella moves fluently from photography and sculpture to digital media in his artistic practice, making use of both analogue…
Hiding It in Plain Sight – An Artist Profile of Lucas Blalock
“Photography is not about the thing photographed. It is about how that thing looks photographed.” – Garry Winogrand. Lucas Blalock…
Unity in Diversity – An Artist Profile of Matthew Porter
Matthew Porter’s body of work is difficult to place at first sight. But perhaps this is neither surprising nor the…
And….CUT! An Artist Profile of Matt Lipps
Matt Lipps’ work is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. In his own words, his practice is…
Moving between Film and Photography – An Artist Profile of Owen Kydd
Since the start of either discipline, film and photography have been trying to morph into each other. Photography has always…
Just Float – A Conversation with Mayumi Hosokura
A young woman sniffles and wipes her nose with her hand. The gesture is utterly disarming. It makes her look…
This Sorrowful Life – How to Cope with the Visual Onslaught of Battlestar Gallactica and The Walking Dead
Finally, most of the survivors have arrived at Terminus. As usual I am late to the party. I am still…
The Badlands – A Reflection on Todd Hido’s Work
One night in Russia I got into in the passenger seat of a beat up Volkswagen. My friend Vadim was…
Bright Lights, Big City – Pitting Martin Scorsese against William Klein
“Loneliness has followed me my whole life, everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There’s no escape. I’m God’s…
The Detroit Issue – The Heirs to W. Eugene Smith’s Legacy?
One of my favourite photographic series of all time is W. Eugene Smith’s depiction of Pittsburgh, if only for the…
Mutual Destruction Assured – Martin Roemers and Marc Wilson’s Attempts at Capturing Europe’s Violent Past
“The images that mobilize conscience are always linked to a given historical situation. The more general they are, the less…
Watching You Watching Me: Trevor Paglen and Simon Norfolk Are Looking Back
In one of the earliest episodes of The X-Files, Mulder and Scully investigate the disappearance of aircraft test pilots in…
Here Come the New Models – A Look at Gender and Beauty Standards in Model Portfolios
When you are confronted with piles and piles of photography books to look through, sometimes you just have to dig…
Gripping Stuff – Nicholas Provost’s and Alex Prager’s View on Hollywood Romance
I have always admired 2 Many DJs for their capacity to merge two seemingly incompatible songs by artists of opposite…
Disarm – Larry Clark’s Jonathan Velasquez versus Annie Leibovitz’ Mariel Hemingway
Disarm you with a smile And cut you like you want me to Cut that little child Inside of me…
Beloved Country – A Review of Alberto Garcìa-Alix’ Patria Querida
An empty seat of a swing sways in the late afternoon sun. An elderly couple dances slowly. A dog barks….
After the Battle – The Battered Landscapes of Hmeli-Suneli
Dawn has arrived. The fog of the previous night dissipates slowly. Shapes loom in the distance. Blurry at first, but…
Spinning a Photographic Yarn: Sarah Moon’ and Ata Kando’s Interpretations of Myths and Fairytales
Sometimes a photograph just grabs you by the throat. It throttles you, and shakes you and will not let you…
Look Me In The Eyes – A Review of ‘Voici Paris – Modernites Photographiques 1920-1950’
During my recent visit to Russia I was lucky enough to catch the beautiful exhibition Voici Paris – Modernités Photographiques…
Save the Last Dance – Attempts by David Claerbout, Russell Lee, Rineke Dijkstra, Johan van der Keuken and Mary McCartney at Capturing Dance
“I think, right, that dancing is like the best thing in the world, because it makes you healthy, like in…
The Street as Studio – A Reflection on Ron Galella’s ‘Windblown Jackie’ and C&A Commercials
The British satirical magazine Private Eye has an oft recurring feature called Ad Nauseam. In it, commercials are lambasted because…
All Along the Watch Tower – Some Thoughts on Donovan Wylie’s and Taysir Batniji’s Watch Towers
“There must be some kind of way out of here,” said the joker to the thief (…) “No reason to…
A Fleeting Impression – Pitting Davide Monteleone’s ‘Dusha: Anima Russa’ against Dale Pesmen’s ‘Russia and Soul’
When I tell people that I have lived in Russia for a while, a recurring question is: what was it…
Peeking and Twin Peaks – Martina Sauter’s View of Audrey Horne
So I finally got round to watching David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. And boy, has it got me hooked. It has…
The City as Playground – A Review of Vivian Maier: Street Photographer and Ai Weiwei in New York: Fotografien 1983-1993
During my recent stay in Budapest I visited two fascinating exhibitions. At the Hungarian House of Photography in Mai Mano…
Apocalypse Now – On the Photographs by AES+F and Gregory Crewdson
In a recent talk entitled The End of Ego, Fred Ritchin stated that much of photography is reactive. According to…
A Beautiful Game – Harry Pearson’s and Hans van der Meer’s Vision on Football
I don’t know much about football. The scant knowledge that I have is primarily gleaned from television commentary running in…
American Poverty and Colour Photography – On the Images of the FSA, Jacob Holdt and Doug Rickard
Sometimes you get struck by the oddest similarities. One which is currently occupying my mind is the recurrence of a…
The Rise of iPad Photography
It’s probably beyond dispute that most photography museums consider it part of their task to educate their audience about the…
Riverrun – A Review of ‘From Here to There: Alec Soth’s America’
Riverrun. It conjures up an image of a castle set at the intersection of two rivers in the universe of…
An Overload of Images
My train of thought on this topic started off with pondering the future of photojournalism. I realize this is a…
1984 Looks Like This – An Exhibition by David Dunnico
War is Peace. Ignorance is Strength. Freedom is Slavery. These are the three slogans aimed at the citizens of Oceania…
Photography, Anthropology and History: a Review
When I first heard about the publication Photography, Anthropology and History, edited by Christopher Morton and Elizabeth Edwards, my first…
Meanwhile Back @Earth… – a Discovery of Peter Kennard’s Political Photomontages
…I was convinced that no artist since Rodchenko had produced any politically inspired photomontages. Of course, I have seen my…
Film and the Art Gallery – Gillian Wearing at the Whitechapel Gallery
I am in front of the Whitechapel Gallery in London on a rainy Sunday morning. I am waiting for the…
In Pursuit of Light – A Review of Roger Ballen’s ‘Shadow Land: Photographs 1983-2011’
At first sight Roger Ballen’s work seems rather perturbing and harrowing. Dirty, ugly, grimy characters populate his images as do…
From Slow to Twitter
Last Thursday Scott Thode asked me which exhibition I had enjoyed producing most. My instant reply was Antiphotojournalism. I explained…
Collecting Photography
Any photography collection is in and of itself a strange beast. Collecting photos is a tantalising enterprise, a hopeless endeavour….
Cherished Objects – Vernacular Photography Presented by romka. magazine
Sometimes I wonder why I have started this Sisyphean task, asking myself if it will ever end. Sometimes I question…
Always On The Lookout – Bill Hunt Explains How to Collect Photography
Former Independent photographer Brian Harris once stated during a workshop that every practicing photographer should have a small but continuing…
American Photographer Abroad – Joel Sternfeld Breaks Free from his Comfort Zone
Joel Sternfeld strikes me first and foremost as an American photographer. By this I do not refer to his nationality…
A Brave Attempt – A Review of ‘Focal Points: Art and Photography’ at Manchester Art Gallery
Currently on at the Manchester Art Gallery is the exhibition Focal Points: Art and Photography. After having been to it…
An Ongoing Conversation – Witnessing Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin at Work
I have always wondered how artistic duos could possibly function, especially when they are photographers. How on earth do they…
Art Imitates Life Imitates Art – Don McCullin’s ‘Finsbury Park’ vs Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Full Metal Jacket’
It was the similarity between the derelict buildings that made me think of the analogy first. It is perhaps a…
The Price of War Photography – The Near-Invisible Demise of Chris Hondros
During last year photography magazines, blogs and many other publications have been full of the demise of Tim Hetherington whilst…
Bearing Witness? Brian Harris’ Documentation of Commonwealth War Graves
As Broomberg & Chanarin have brilliantly shown with their work The day nobody died¹, photographing war these days does not necessarily…
Battling The Pervasiveness of Visual Cliches – Jean Depara’s Images of Kinshasa in 1950s-1970s
What is the first image your mind conjures up when thinking of sub-Sahara Africa? It can go two ways really….
A Brief Foray into the Icelandic Photography Scene – Hjalmar R. Bardarson, Leifur Þorsteinsson and Soffía Gísladóttir
Grim. Desolate. Imposing. Brisk. The landscape in Iceland is reminding me both of the Moors in the north of England…
Contact Sheets, The Mexican Suitcase, and the Ruining of Three Photographers
As any self-respecting photographer or film maker knows, capturing the scene is really only about one third of the job….
New Cartographies: Algeria – France – UK
I have got to give it to The Cornerhouse, the cinema and arts centre based in Manchester. Time after time…
Critical of the Photography Critic – On Adrian Hamilton’s View of E.O. Hoppe and Ida Kar
According to Adrian Hamilton of The Independent: “However successful photographers may be in capturing the world and life, there is…
Homage, Plagiarism or Simply Cliché? Jodi Bieber’s ‘Bibi Aisha’ versus Steve McCurry’s ‘Afghan Girl’
Last Friday the winner of the World Press Photo Award was announced. South African photographer Jodi Bieber carried home the…
Art as a Form of Social Critique – On Isabelle Wenzel’s Office Photographs
Last week I came across the work of Isabelle Wenzel, a young photographer based in Amsterdam. She had been commissioned…
Analogue versus Digital – An Appraisal of a Master Printer?
Never has the analogue versus digital debate been dealt such a resounding death knell as the current Digital? Analogue! exhibition…
Working at the Factory – In Praise of Maurice Broomfields’ Industrial Photographs
I am not sure which is worse: to be known as the child of, or to be known as the…
The Suburbs Are – In Praise of Olivia Bee and Arcade Fire
My first thought upon encountering Olivia Bee’s work, and later Olivia Bee herself, was filled with jealousy. Only sixteen years…
Photography and Censorship – On the Nudity in the Photographs by Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin
A woman approaches me and asks in a piercing American voice whether there are any exhibitions on at the museum…
Street Photography Is Now Dead – A Nostalgic Look at Dolf Toussaint’s Images of Amsterdam in the 1960s
Recently I seem to come across articles in which street photography is routinely declared dead. The authors generally argue that…
The Invisibility of a City – Reflections on Rotterdam
The inhabitants of Rotterdam must love tall buildings. Visiting Rotterdam last week turned out to be a bit of a…