Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, 28th April 2012

I visited the Scottish National Portrait Gallery as part of a trip to Edinburgh and found a great deal of photographic work to enjoy. Here are some of my reaction to works that caught my eye:

Stuart Franklin: Farmscapes

Stuart Franklin is a Magnum photographer and this exhibition forms part of a commission for him to document the diversity of Scottish agriculture. He is famous for capturing the iconic image of a student protester standing in the way of on oncoming tank duringthe Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989.

The introduction to the exhibition sums up the commission well:

"Farming dominates the Scottish landscape, with around three quarters of the nation’s land mass devoted to agricultural production. Woodland covers nearly a fifth of Scotland and the aquaculture industry is the largest in the European Union. Rural land use reflects a range of historical and environmental factors: large cereal farming is concentrated to the drier, east of the country whilst the majority of sheep graze on the poorer soils – and smaller farms and crofts – of the north west. Around 65,000 workers are directly employed in Scottish agriculture. New forms of agribusiness, such as a thriving organic movement, continue to evolve."

The images in the exhibition are impressive to view - printed large, detailed, probably taken with a large format camera, and on the surface this draws the viewer in to concentrate on the aesthetics of the work. On closer examination there is much more going on however and a subtle underlying commentary.

Take for example the image that is used to advertise the exhibition:

Oronsay,Scotland. Meadow with Oxe-eye Daisies, Yellow Rattle and Knapweed, 2008.

My initial reaction to this image was to feel impressed by the beauty and detail of the piece, at first I took in the patterns of shape and colour made by the countless flowers and then moved closer to look at the fine detail of the individual flowers. It took me a couple of moments to consider why Franklin would choose to photograph a meadow of wild flowers - what agricultural importance could this have? There was also the realisation that the picture is of a completely wild scene and not something manmade, the caption drew me in further explaining that wild meadows are increasingly being allowed to grow in an attempt to restore some balance with nature that has been lost through man's intervention with the landscape and provide a habitat for insects. This shows a shift in mind set and a growing awareness that there must be a balance between nature and man. I was left to wonder how typical this approach is however, especially when viewed alongside this image:

HarvestingBarley Along the Strathmore Valley, Near Coupar Angus

This is a dramatic image which more closely fits my understanding of what agriculture is. The combine harvester is a menacing presence in the landscape which is emphasised by its positioning in the frame and the dark approaching storm clouds. Although there is no indication in the notes there is a feeling that Franklin is against this form of industrial agriculture - or at least wary.

Reading the photographers stance on varying farming practices is complicated by this image of organic pigs:

Organic Pig Farming,Elgin, 2008

The received notion we have of organic farming is that it takes place in some sort of idyllic situation, this image goes against that however showing a lone pig pretty desolate surroundings. This image in a way is more critical than the harvesting shot - that just reaffirms what is known about farming, this picture goes against the marketing of organic produce; Franklin is showing here the reality of farming even in what is supposed to be the 'best' circumstances.

When I viewed the exhibition I concentrated more on the aesthetic properties of the images. It was only after when I viewed the pictures at home that I began to consider the intent of the photographer and his possible motivations. On the surface the set is comprised of visually appealing images, but this is just a device to draw the viewer in. Franklin seems to be challenging the viewer about the environmental impact any form of farming has on the landscape while challenging the notion that this is a natural process  - it is very much influenced by the hand of man.

Romantic camera - Scottish Photography and the Modern World

This exhibition features work from the collection of the gallery with the theme of exploring the relationship between romanticism and photography in Scotland. Full exhibition notes here:

At the time I visited the exhibition I must admit I found the link between some of the images quite tenuous, never the less, there were plenty of images that caught my attention. Here are a few of them:

Michael Reisch - Landscape 7/04

Reisch was commissioned by the gallery in 2007 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. He chose to do this by 'intervening' in the landscape, digitally removing any manmade clues from the landscape. I found the image featured in the gallery somewhat uninspiring; to my eye it was very obviously manipulated and had an unreal quality, it reminded me of middle earth in 'The Lord of the Rings' films - a fantasy only loosely connected to reality. The concept of the set intrigues me however, with only one picture featured in the gallery so I felt unable to make a definitive view of the whole. Viewing other images on Reisch's website the work seems interesting. Maybe the unreal end result was a deliberate strategy by the photographer?

Mark Neville - Port Glasgow Town Hall Christmas party(2004)

I was struck immediately by this image when I saw it in the gallery. There is a joy and abandon present in the photograph of people dancing and enjoying themselves at a Christmas party. I assume flash has been used to momentarily illuminate the scene, in reality I guess it would have been quite dark which would have led to a sense of comfort for the people pictured. There is a brilliant naturalness to the people here and a sense that they are truly letting their hair down - something that is probably an infrequent occasion. The lady at the front of the image anchors the image - and in some ways there is an element of cruelty that can be read from her inclusion. I doubt whether she would view this as a flattering portrait - you clearly get the sense that this is not the normal way she would behave. While I can understand why someone would be aghast at being included in such a way in an image I personally enjoy the sense of joy in the picture and the way the image is completely unstaged. The theme of truth and reality in photography is as old as the mediums invention and something that interests me greatly - I am fascinated by the way people can look so different frame to frame and strategies employed by photographers to get there subjects to appear natural is something that inspires me (for example Walker Evans underground series, Philip Dicorcia's Heads series, Rineke Djkstira YoungMothers and Bullfighters series)

When I got home and researched the photographer more I found the image was part of a wider project documenting the people of the town of Port Glasgow. 

In 2004 Neville spent a year as artist in residence in the town the output being a coffee table style book which was delivered free of charge to Port Glasgow's 8000 residents and which the photographer vowed would never be reprinted. The  concept for this approach was to subvert the way art books like this are usually disseminated and is a comment on class - one of the themes of the work being the difficulties faced by the residents of Port Glasgow in the face of economic decline of traditional industries. The reaction of the inhabitants is interesting - some saw the book as beautiful and honest, others that it showed the community in a negative light and a few protestant residents burned copies of the book behind the towns Catholic club in protest as what they perceived as pro Catholic bias in the work. Looking through Mark Neville's website it seems he has produced a number of interesting projects and I will have to note his name for further research.

Richard Learoyd - Agnes at table 1

This image is truly an example of how you can only get the full effect of a work in a gallery setting - on the computer screen the image looks interesting but nothing special but on the gallery wall it is life size and extremely detailed which makes the work quite mesmerizing and meant I spent quite a while viewing the portrait. Learoyd achieves this through a fascinating process - his 'camera' is a kind of camera obscura which projects the image of the sitter onto photographic paper meaning that the work is a positive image which cannot be reproduced - a comment on photography as an art itself.

Sze Tsung Leong - horizons series

This work again only really resonates when seen in the flesh. It is a series of panoramic images of four very different cities, the horizon being placed in the same position in each frame and arranged next to each other on the gallery wall. The effect at first is that from a distance the images appear to be of the same place, it is only when you begin to look closer that you realise they are of very different cities (Amman, Tokyo, Edinburgh, Essen) and begin to look at the differences between frames. The images were all taken at differing times and I admire the photographers self discipline to follow the project over an extended period.

Paul Strand - South Uist (from Tir A'Mhurain)

Paul Strand is a photographer that is held in high esteem but who I am only marginally acquainted. (Unfortunately I have not been able to find the image presented in the gallery on line) 'Tir A'Mhurain' his photo essay about the Hebrides is often citied as an exemplary example of the photobook - for this reason the one image featured in the gallery left me wanting to see more.

A few months after my visit to Edinburgh I came across this fascinating article by Fraser MacDonald in The Guardian written on the 50th anniversary of the books publication.

 The article details much that I had no idea about and has pricked my desire to research Strand more; he was a Marxist exile from McCarthy era USA, South Uist was a possible location for secret missile testing around the time Strand photographed and he insisted that the book was published beyond the iron curtain in East Germany - surely coincidental? The gallery showed only one image of Strand's from this series and I was left with a feeling if wanting more, of needing to see the entire work before it makes sense. This feeling of wanting to see a set together is something that has been on my mind for a while - when I first became serious about photography the books I bought were all overviews or history's providing only a couple of images by each photographer discussed. As my knowledge grew I bought titles about individual photographers but again they tended to be overviews of their work. A turning point came when I bought Robert Frank's 'The Americans', one of the most celebrated photobooks of all time. It was a revelation to me seeing many images I had by now become familiar with through other contexts presented in together as a whole and I was struck by the way Frank's sequencing of the images added so much. I am becoming increasingly interested in the photobook as an art form in its own right and the power that can be created through presenting a set of images together.

I left this exhibition with a strange mix of exhilaration and feeling unsatisfied - the work had whet my appetite for researching many of the photographers on show while I felt the need for a little more substance. Similar to my feeling about photobooks I want to see exhibitions by single photographers rather than this kind of group show.

Pentti Sammallahti: Side Gallery, Newcastle (18th February - 14 April 2012)

I had the unusual pleasure (unusual in that I am normally at work when these events take place) of being able to attend the opening of the new exhibition at 'The Side' gallery in Newcastle. I knew nothing about the photographer Pentti Sammallahti and deliberately did not research his work beforehand as I wanted to experience it fresh and without preconception. I often find that internet research of photographs can be disappointing, often the images are not comparable to the quality of seeing the work in the flesh. I guess this is often a necessity as it is all too easy to steal from the web so works are uploaded at low resolutions. In the case of Sammallahti I am glad I did not try to research beforehand - he does not have a website and the images I have been able to find of his work are not comparable to the quality of his exquisite prints.

It was great to see the gallery well attended - the future of 'The Side' has been in doubt recently because their Arts Council funding has been withdrawn. The talk was opened with the announcement that funding had been secured for the next six months and that they were confident that further funding would be secured after this which meant the immediate future of the gallery is safe.

Before the talk commenced I had the chance to view the exhibition and my initial reaction was that the work is not what I am used to seeing exhibited at 'The Side.' The gallery features "documentary work in the tradition of the concerned photographer"1  my initial reaction was that this was not social documentary in the way I recognise it - although all of the photographs are black and white - a convention of documentary photography, the subject matter is closer to wildlife, landscape or even art photography. There are very few people in the photographs featured and although each image is captioned with the date taken, they have a timeless quality which makes them difficult to place. They seem strangely familiar and yet alien - often the composition seems difficult but on closer inspection you realise there is a precise order and balance present: "each photograph invites the viewer into something deeper - a teasing out of the narrative through its smallest details"2

As we sat down for the talk I was intrigued to know more about the images and the photographer. I was immediately impressed by how down to earth and affable Pentti appeared to be, he clearly loves photography as an art form but was very self deprecating when referring to his own work, when asked about influences however he lit up describing the influence Paul Strand had on him as a young man. It became apparent that the link between Sammallahti's work and the gallery is with one of the founding members of Amber (the collective that run 'The Side') Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen. Like Pentti she is Finnish and they have also collaborated on one of her projects in the past.

The first subject for discussion was what projects Pentti explored. He said he did not shoot projects as such but brought together bodies of work that seemed similar in the editing process. The pictures in the exhibition were chosen with Konttinen and all featured two of his recurring interests and themes - animals or roads. He said printing was his main interest and the photographs were merely there because he needed something to print! Asked about whether he cropped his images he enthusiastically replied 'yes! Always!' which I found a refreshing change to the precious idea of the photographer composing exactly in the viewfinder. He said he used medium format and panoramic cameras because this allowed him to crop significantly while still maintaining quality. I found his description of his workflow quite interesting - he spends at least 2 hours a day examining his negatives using a loupe. From this he decides on the crop and how to best print the image. There was quite an interesting discussion about traditional versus digital printing techniques. Pentti said he used both (although he only used photoshop in the same way he uses darkroom techniques - he quipped that one day he may learn about layers!) digital allowed him to print much larger and at greater quality than traditional techniques, although he was not sure if the digital prints became so good that something was lost in them versus wet prints.

The prints exhibited are from Pentti's travels throughout Europe, Asia and Africa but mainly from his visits to Russia. He talked passionately about the Russian people and there hospitality and also how enjoyed the cold (there is certainly a lot of snow in his work.) He said that for him Newcastle was a little warm at 3 degrees! He made an interesting point that for his work it was essential that he was an outsider or stranger to make interesting photographs. Currently I am interested in the reverse idea that you need to be completely acquainted with your chosen subject to create engaging work - one of my on going projects is photographing my local area and revisiting the same places over a period of time. One of the audience commented on a particular image as being a favourite, Pentti was gracious but said that conditions were so extraordinary that day that he could have held the camera above his head and made a brilliant image. Asked about how he captured another image and the seemingly impeccable timing 

Paanajarvi, Karelia, 1992

He dismissed the notion of the 'decisive moment' saying he had not even noticed the dog  seemingly chasing the bird until he viewed the negative. I love the balance created by the precise positioning of the camera at the apex of the triangle created by the road tracks either side of the 'island' of trees. The picture is elevated however by the chance inclusion of the dog and bird which through their movements have taken on a kind of personality: the bird seems to strut across the road with pride and arrogance while there is a real sense of the speed the dog is moving at to capture the bird. I am left wondering if the dog will reach his goal - maybe the bird is too caught up in its own self importance to realise the danger or perhaps it is toying with the dog and will fly off when it gets close?

I left the exhibition feeling privileged to have spent some time listening to Pentti and glad that I had found another inspirational photographer to draw upon. I intend to revisit the exhibition before it closes to view the images again with the benefit of having some time to think and digest their meaning.

Other notable images from the exhibition:

Martinmere, England, 1996

This image of ducks and swans is featured at the entrance of the gallery and for me provides an accessible introduction to Pentti's work. There is an unusual order created by the difference in tone between the ducks and swans and the way they are arranged in the frame.

Solovki, White Sea, Russia, 1992 (dog and bag)

Pentti spent some time talking about this image in reference to his strategies for image making. When shooting in remote areas he said he carries cans of fish with him which he will empty into the snow and will act as bait for animals in the area. He used this technique in preparation for this image as he knew the dog in the foreground would make his daily journey to the local shop to bring back supplies for his master - an old blind man who would put a list in the bag (usually for bread and vodka he said) along with the money for the shopkeeper. The dog was too focused on its mission however and did not stop but another animal did take the bait which allowed this image to happen. The juxtaposition between the animal in the background versus the dog with the bag is amusing and touching and perhaps is a comment on order versus chaos.

Solovki, White Sea, Russia, 1992 (dog on snow mobile)

This is witty image and very strong graphically because of the recurring implied triangles in the picture (the shape of the central dog and the snow mobile and the arrangement of the other dogs.) The relationship between the central dog and those around it is amusing - the dog on the bike sits proud, seemingly pleased with its positioning and the status this affords it. The surrounding dogs seem less impressed - the ones on the left vocally so while the dog on the right seems to leaving the scene in disgust. The lack of a human presence also suggests a world where dogs have taken over.

Iceland, 1980 (cats looking at dried fish)

The order and balance in the design of this image coupled with the cats all staring at the dried fish creates the humour here. You get a real sense of the cats desperate to eat the fish and yet there patience at waiting to see if something will happen and they manage to take some fish.

1 Side gallery website http://www.amber-online.com/sections/side-gallery

2 Side Gallery exhibition introduction