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Something in the City

Paul Baldesare
Jim Barron
Townly Cooke
Peter Marshall      
Yoke Matze
Len Salem
Mike Seaborne

In selecting work for this show I wanted to find photography that reflected London in the 1990's, and that approached it with a contemporary vision. The term documentary with its overtones of Grierson and 1930's together with a strong British tradition of social documentary photography have tended to obscure both the much wider aspects of documentary and the problems implicit in the documentary approach.

I looked for work which demonstrated a commitment by the photographer to the subject matter, and which showed a real attempt to understand and communicate. The subject is vital in documentary work, and I wanted the show to deal with some issues I felt to be important - even though many more had to be omitted. Finally, I wanted work which made effective use of photography and extended it as a visual medium.

The Thames as a transport artery played a major function in the life and growth of the capital until comparatively recently, and work by Townly and Mike reflects both its continuing symbolic importance and the large areas ripe for development as a result of its practical demise.

Night has long interested photographers, at least in part because photography is so much a creature of light that night photography seems paradoxical. Both Jim and Len exploit the distorting effects of available light in their very different work, with Jim also tackling the problems of conservation and redevelopment.

Colour has come back to prominence in photography following the lead of the `New Colour' photographers in the USA, and is used to good effect here both in daylight by Mike and in Len's night pictures.

Transport is, as we all know, in crisis, and Paul's travellers seem to have a very personal awareness of this.

Yoke's work insists on looking where we might rather not think, and does so in a way which develops and extends the documentary tradition.

Finally as selector I have the indulgence of including some of my own work.

Peter Marshall



contemporary documentary photography


Paul Baldesare
Paul Baldesare is a freelance photographer working and living in London.
These pictures are from an ongoing project on Victoria Coach Station, concentrating on the people who use it, which he started in 1990.

Victoria Coach Station No. 1 - 6
silver gelatine prints

Jim Barron
RICHMOND RIVERSIDE - AFTER DARK
Jim Barron recently retired after a long career as a photographer in the Civil Service, in which he worked extensively throughout the tropical world on behalf of agencies such as the Asian Development Bank, the Overseas Development Administration, FAO, WHO, and most recently for UNICEF in China.
His private or non-official work has appeared extensively in The Guardian and has been featured in several photographic magazines, as well as in his publication The Batsford Book of Vintage Cars.
The pros and cons of the Quinlan Terry Richmond development have been aired extensively. These two prints from a continuing project on the area illustrate its attraction for young people during the warm summer evenings.
silver gelatine

Townly Cooke
1-4 Greenwich No.1-4
silver gelatine

Peter Marshall
NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL

© 1991 Peter Marshall
Carnival is London's - if not Europe's - largest event. I also see it as epitomising the way British cultural traditions have been widened and enriched by migration to this country. Although its roots remain importantly in the West Indies, the million or two of us taking part - black and white alike - are almost all British and increasingly British born. Carnival is also great fun; I go to enjoy it and to enjoy photographing it.
Peter Marshall is one of the founders and co-ordinators of Framework, and was responsible for the selection of this show. His photography and writing about photography has appeared in a wide range of magazines and books, as well as in numerous group and one-person shows.

Notting Hill, 1991 No.1 - 6
More pictures from this series are on show on Fixing Shadows
silver gelatine

Yoke Matze
WITHIN AND BEYOND BOUNDARIES
The purpose of this project is to open up an area of public life which is usually hidden away because in our Western culture death is still a taboo subject.
During the course of this project I have looked at different aspects of this phenomenon, both environmental and social. For this exhibition I have chosen four 'Still-life' images. They represent an everlasting 'life-cycle'.

1. The three sisters
2. Beheaded Angel
3. Untitled 1
4. Untitled 2
silver gelatine

Len Salem
AFTER DARK
I like the way colour photographic materials and electric light work together to transform quite ordinary suburban locations into something altogether more interesting after dark.

1. After Dark - 1
2. After Dark - 2
3. After Dark - 3
4. After Dark - 4
C-type

Mike Seaborne
THE INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE OF THE RIVER THAMES
This project, which I began in 1990, is concerned with photographing the decaying industrial landscape of the south bank of the Thames east of Deptford, an area which is soon to be redeveloped.
Utilising the descriptive quality of large-format colour negative film, I am aiming to create a series of highly detailed images which are both documentary records and pictorial studies in light and colour. I am using a 5"x4" view camera and the photographs are contemplative rather than quick-witted in nature.

1. ARC Cement Works, Deptford Creek, and Deptford Power Station, 1991
2. Tunnel Refinery, Greenwich, 1991
3. Lovell's Wharf and riverside path, Greenwich, 1991
4. Disused entrance to Lovell's Wharf, Greenwich, 1991
5. Drawdock Rd, Looking towards Blackwell Point, Greenwich, 1991
6. Granite Wharf, Greenwich, 1991
C-type