Award-winning photographer Kurt Tong has his first solo exhibition in London at the Photofusion gallery. Born in Hong Kong in 1977, Kurt Tong was originally trained as a health visitor at the University of Liverpool. He has worked and traveled extensively across Europe, the Americas and Asia. In 1999, Kurt co-founded Prema Vasam, a charitable home for disabled and disadvantaged children in Chennai, South India.

I have followed his work over the last few years and for me it has a certain calming effect and resonance. So I was delighted to see his first solo exhibition announced. The exhibition at Photofusion will showcase two projects of Tong’s more recent work: In Case It Rains in Heaven, and Memories, Dreams; Interrupted.

Kurt became a full-time photographer in 2003. He was the winner of the Luis Valtuena International Humanitarian Photography Award and the City of Port St. Elpidio Prize with his first picture story documenting the ill treatment of disabled children in India. He worked for many other NGOs and covered stories from Female Infanticide to ballroom dancers.  He gained a Masters in documentary photography at the London College of Communications in 2006 and began working on much more personal projects. He has since been chosen as the winner of Photograph.Book.Now competition, the Hey, Hot Shot! competition and the prestigious Jerwood Photography Award.

Kurt’s photographs have been widely published and exhibited around the world at venues including: The Royal Academy, Impressions Gallery, Abbaye de Neumunster, Fotofest in Houston and upcoming shows solo shows at Photofusion and Compton Verney.

Kurt became a full-time photographer in 2003. He was the winner of the Luis Valtuena International Humanitarian Photography Award and the City of Port St. Elpidio Prize with his first picture story documenting the ill treatment of disabled children in India. He worked for many other NGOs and covered stories from Female Infanticide to ballroom dancers.  He gained a Masters in documentary photography at the London College of Communications in 2006 and began working on much more personal projects. He has since been chosen as the winner of Photograph.Book.Now competition, the Hey, Hot Shot! competition and the prestigious Jerwood Photography Award. Kurt’s photographs have been widely published and exhibited around the world at venues including: The Royal Academy, Impressions Gallery, Abbaye de Neumunster, Fotofest in Houston and upcoming shows solo shows at Photofusion and Compton Verney.

Summary from Photofusion:

In Case it Rains in Heaven is a series of photographs of items made of joss paper to be burned as offerings for the dead. Traditionally, many Chinese believe that when a person dies, he leaves with no earthly possessions and it’s up to his descendants to provide for him in the afterlife until his reincarnation. Originally, coins and animals were buried with the dead, but when that proved too expensive for commoners, they began burning joss paper decorated with seals, stamps, silver or gold paint, as offerings to the spirits to ensure they lived well in the afterlife. In the last 50 years, these offerings have become more and more elaborate as objects are molded from the paper, some reflecting traditional culture, but many reflecting the consumer culture which is taking over China. Cars, washing machines and MacDonalds meals are made out of the paper, and entire shops have been set up selling an array of joss paper products. The exhibition showcases the variety of objects chosen to be depicted for this purpose, and will also feature a video work of the burning ceremony.

Memories, Dreams; Interrupted is a series of works which explores the concept of memories. Scientists have suggested that our memories are stored like jpegs; broken down into small pieces and put away. When we recall an event, the pieces are put back together; any parts missing are automatically filled in by our brain, thus altering our memories of the event. Tong’s photographs are taken at places where he goes with his daughters, familiar places where memories are made, but places which are constantly changing, becoming a metaphor for the interpretation of memories. He captures these places on film, using techniques which purposely degrade the film. The image is then reconstructed using digital means.

I hope to post comment on this exhibition when I visit it later next week. This exhibition is on in London until the 26th September 2010. For more information visit Photofusion’s show preview here.

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Virginia #42, 2004, from the series Faces © Sally Mann. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

The very personal work of Sally Mann is currently on show at the photographers gallery in London. Here is an extract from their website about the exhibition:

The work of American photographer Sally Mann is deeply rooted in both her family, and the landscape she lives and works in. This exhibition, her first solo-show in the UK, draws on several powerful photographic series from throughout her long career that reflect these influences.

Sally Mann (b.1951, USA) first came to prominence for Immediate Family(1984 – 94), a series of intimate and revealing portraits of her three young children Emmett, Jessie and Virginia. Taken over ten years, Mann depicts them playing and acting to camera in and around their homestead in Virginia. Capturing their childhood in all its rawness and innocence, both this and the later series Faces were born out of a collaborative process between mother and child.

Changing focus to the landscape close to her home, the series Deep South(1996 – 98) draws on significant locations from the American Civil War. The photographs are ghostly lit and covered with delicate marks and drip trails – a result of using antique cameras and processes which Mann relishes – that imbue them with a sense of time suspended.

The most recent series in the exhibition, What Remains (2000-04), brings together both of the earlier strands. Facing us are beautifully realised portraits of decomposing bodies returning to the land, photographs taken at a research facility in Tennesse. Dealing directly with the social taboo of death, Mann treats this subject with sensitivity, encouraging us to reflect on our own mortality and place within nature’s order.

The Family and the Land: Sally Mann at The Photographers’ Gallery is an edited version of a touring exhibition, conceived by Sally Mann in collaboration with Hasse Persson, Director, Borås Museum of Modern Art, Sweden.

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Point101 was asked by Proud Galleries to produce all the Giclee prints for its current exhibition 1996 : The Glory Days. We were delighted to take up the challenge and printed a total of 30 images; four 40 x 30″ and twenty six 20 x 24″. They were all in their native black and white except for the iconic image of Bobby Moore holding up the world cup trophy (shown below).

© 2010 Mirrorpix (originals) and Point101 (photo of print)

The images were supplied by the Mirrorpix archive and show a documentary of England’s greatest footballing year. This is an exclusive exhibition that has never been shown before and the photographs give a nostalgic peek into the life and times of that great football squad and the people involved in the historic events of 1966.

We decided to produce the giclee prints on a professional Illford Pearl paper at 1440 dpi. We tweaked the images to help bring back the authentic film feel of that era – which was the method in which they were produced and everyone was very happy with the results!

© 2010 Mirrorpix (originals) and Point101 (photo of print)

© 2010 Mirrorpix (originals) and Point101 (photo of print)

© 2010 Mirrorpix (originals) and Point101 (photo of print)

After we delivered the images to Proud, they were then captioned, embossed and framed for the exhibition.

© 2010 Mirrorpix (originals) and Point101 (photo of print)

© 2010 Mirrorpix (originals) and Point101 (photo of print)

The exhibition is on at Proud Camden for most of the World Cup; from 9th June to the 18th July. We hope you can make it down and have a proper look for yourself! For more information visit Proud’s exhibition page.

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We did some printing for an exhibition earlier in the year which featured some stunning work from Lukasz Warzecha – here is a photo from the exhibition.

If you want to checkout more of his work go to www.lwimages.co.uk, some really stunning images! If you like his stuff contact him – I am sure he’d be willing to sell some reproductions of his work.

exhibition · Exhibitions · photography exhibition