On Saturday 8th I was privileged to be able to view Olga’s photography exhibition at the Stark Gallery in the heart of Canterbury. The work varied in theme, but focused mainly on creativity and seeing the world from a different perspective. Olga experiments wonderfully with skewed angles and motion blur which allow her pictures to create some very intense compositions. I was joined by two other photographers, Matt Tyler and Keith Franklin, and it was a pleasure to witness and support another photographer and her work.
David LaChappelle ‘Jesus Is My Homeboy’ at Robilant & Voena Gallery and Annie Leibovitz ‘A Photographer’s Life, 1990 – 2005’ at The National Portrait Gallery
Yesterday was an extremely busy day as I went to visit two photographic exhibitions. The first of the day was at the Robilant & Voena Gallery in Westminster where David LaChappelle’s project, ‘Jesus Is My Homeboy’ was being displayed. David LaChappelle is one of the most exciting photographers of our time and has been dubbed the 21st Century Andy Warhol which is saying something. His bright, vivid, hyper-real photographs display some of the most brilliant photographs I have ever seen. His project entitled ‘Jesus Is My Homeboy’ is a set of several photographs displaying Jesus in various contemporary locals surrounded by various urban artists and characters. But as you begin to look closer at the images you see that they are actually based on various famous paintings and moments in the bible like the last supper, or the anointment of Jesus’ feet but updated to a much more visceral setting. The photographs which are sometimes difficult to look at because of the bright tonality were awe inspiring spanning several feet in each direction. I felt truly honoured to bask in this great mans work.
The second exhibition was for a vast series of work by the artist Annie Leibovitz who is one of the most proficient and respected portrait artists of the latter part of the century. Her work has dazzled audiences for years and se gained some quite humerous press when she asked the queen to remove her crown for a more informal photo shoot. This exhibition was in The National Portrait Gallery and contained a few hundred photos varying in subject matter from portraits of celebrities to shots of her dear friend as she grew ever closer towards death at the hands of cancer. The images were intoxicating and it was hard to stop gazing at some of them. The majority of the work was in black and white which only added to the mystique of some of the photographs. There was a strange order to the photos. I was expecting it to progress slowly from celebrities to the work with her friend and finish. However it was much more sporadic, spanning several celebrity photographs then one of her friend or family and then back to a celebrity as if to highlight that these moments with her friends or family, no matter how small or insignificant, were deeply engrained on the consciousness of the artist.
All in all I had a great day in London and will be travelling back soon.
The Musings of Joseph Watts 