Life Update and February Events
Last year I was in hospital with the flu. I never really get ill either. I’ve got a fair few bits and bobs wrong with me but I’m never ill ill. But I was and it really knocked my immune system. Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago. I was feeling under the weather and getting to work was exhausting. I opted to work from home but went back in a few days later when I ran out of things to do. To be honest I genuinely thought I was getting better. I tried to be a little bit more active and looking back, I should have probably taken it easy… because now I’m back off work and have been firmly told to stay in bed by my doctor (who had serious Older-Jamie-Lee-Curtis-vibes). So I’m in bed and am bored senseless. I figured splurging thoughts down doesn’t take too much effort, right? I got out of bed (sorry Dr Curtis) grabbed a Rooibos tea with some blackberry honey and gave myself a chance to catch up with you guys.
What’s happened so far in February?
This month was and is meant to be crammed with events but being ill has… altered this a bit. I did, however, get to go to the fantastic “Feast for the Eyes” exhibition at The Photographers Gallery at the beginning of the month. I originally saw this exhibition advertised last year at Foam, but I found out about it a few days before it closed and I couldn’t afford Amsterdam on such late notice. My friend Mel posted a lot of photos on her Instagram stories and made me incredibly envious and desperate to go see it! (Her socials are @melissarjphoto. She is a great food photographer and stylist who shoots for BBCGoodFood. Go check her out) I decided to go on my “oh I feel better” day out. It was a fantastic show and even though I was exhausted by lunch time and ended up leaving London 3 ish hours early ‘cause I felt like shit, I am so glad I went.
Selection of Cook books at the Feast for the Eyes exhibition @ The Photographers’ Gallery
The exhibition was split into 3 sections; Blue for Still Life, Yellow for Around the Table which looked at relationships and phenomena centred around food. I loved this section as it explored different cultural practises but also what phenomena transcended age, culture and time, such as picnics. Red was for Playing with Food and the final section was dedicated to cookbooks. The exhibitions touched upon so many themes such as digital culture, diet culture (with a great collection of Weight Watchers Recipe cards), feminism, sensuality and advertising.
Untitled #54, 2002 from the series Hardly More Than Ever by Laura Letinsky
Summer Still-Life, 1995 by Wolfgang Tillmans
I thought this was such a varied exhibition and highlighted many topics I love. It also included some photographers and works I admire so much, such as Nobuyoshi Araki and Laura Letinsky. I am super interested in food and photography, not just food photography. The interconnected chemical histories, colour photography, relationships built around food (a great book to have a look at is The Photographer’s Cookbook) and how it is interacted with in different ways in society. I couldn’t leave without purchasing the book that went along with it the exhibition (bad idea because it was heavy and I was weak af) and I can’t wait to read it!
What was going to happen this month?
October last year, I gave a paper at the Women’s Archive of Wales Conference on Mary Dillwyn and the Issues of Women’s Studies in Photographic History. I ended up winning the Avril Rolph Bursary and had let it sit in the bank until I decided what to do with it. I finally used it on something I’ve wanted to do for ages now. A Wet Plate Collodion Workshop. This is meant to be happening this Saturday. However I’m pretty sure the combo of the travel there and all those chemicals is a no go, so am organising a shuffle. >>>> Migrate to March
What is happening this month?
Me and Alice (@alicebizarremua) are moving out of our Studio! We were renting a space in Roath with MadeInRoath and have sadly decided to leave. We originally started using the space as it was a 10 minute walk from where we lived and was the perfect spot to get out of the house to work. (It also helped that it was a 2 minute walk from Blanche Vegan Bakery.) Since renting there, we moved to Barry, I got 2 jobs + volunteering. Then I moved to Cardiff again and got a job in Bristol where I commute 3-4 hours a day. I don’t have too much spare time and Alice has a child. Go figure! Anyway, I’m not sure if it has been filled but it was £100 a month / 50 each and was a very nice size!! Contact MadeInRoath if you’re interested!
Phrame Exhibition launch ‘Everywoman’ @ the Senedd
As some of you know, I’m part of Phrame; A photography collective that strive to showcase and promote the work of female photographers in Wales. After our launch exhibition last year at Diffusion Festival, we’ve been hosting PhotoJam portfolio review sessions, Phrame Chat causal socials, and working on what is to come in the next year. Our next exhibition “Everywoman” is on from the 25th of Feb until the 25th of March and begins with a lunch time launch (12-13:30) on Tuesday the 29th of February. This is followed by a day of Tours and PhotoJam sessions on Sunday the 8th of March, International Women’s Day!
‘Instagram: A Symposium’
Over the past year or so, since I learned about them, I have tried to go to as many ImageWorks events as I can. They are a team that host events revolved around research and practise in visual culture. Their next event is ‘Instagram: A Symposium’ held on Saturday the 29th of February at the National Museum Cardiff. The first lot of tickets sold out but after acquiring a larger room, more are available here. It looks like a great day!
March dates to look out for:
Friday 6th March – ‘Don’t leave me this way’ Symposium; Accessing and activating The Franko B Archive - 10:15-18:00 @ Arnolfini
Sunday 8th March - Everywoman exhibition tours and PhotoJam sessions