Cathy's Art Diary

Moving  interview at Charleston Farmhouse as part of the Charleston Festival with the photographer Don McCullin. Sean O’Hagan, a brilliant chair, used images to guide McCullin to discuss his life and work from his iconic war photography to his current landscapes. McCullin came across as someone deeply affected by the war work while also denying this. Chatting to other audience members afterwards we were struck by the contradictions in what he said, quotes like “these are things that suffocate my thinking “, “I’ve never found the freedom to enjoy my life” and “I do landscape to avoid my guilt”. Sadly the event ended abruptly before the Q&A as one of the audience was taken in and they had to clear the tent. It added a dramatic ending to a tense event but I’m pleased to report they were fine.  

Interesting exhibition at Borough Yards for the World Press Photography Awards 2023. This was a pop-up show in a new venue to me with worked well for this type of show. Looking at the website there are simultaneous shows in a number of venues around the world. The photographs were rather overshadowed by the poignant stories they were telling and I read a lot of news that I’d missed over the year such as plans for two open pit coal mines in Germany and an island off New Orleans where 98% of its surface has vanished under the sea. A number of the images were too poignant to re photograph including the winning picture which I remember from the papers at the time by Mohammed Salem of a woman in Gaza cradling the shrouded body of her 5 year old niece with is basically a Pieta. Closed 27 May 2024    

Moving exhibition at One Canada Square of photographs from the Daily Mirror. The show marked the 120th anniversary of the paper and was displayed around the walls of the foyer. The Mirror has the first paper to give photographs a prominent place and the early examples in particular are fascinating. The 55 pictures gave a good overview of British political and social history over the period. They are shown with good short descriptions and the name of the photographer where it’s known. It would have been nice to see some original prints but for a show in this sort of space it was done well. I say moving because once you get into the pictures from your lifetime the memories come flooding back and the last one of a father saying goodbye to the son he was putting on a train out of the Ukraine bought a tear to my eye. The photos did reflect the papers left of centre bias but, as I sympathise, that added to it for me. However my favourite picture was this one of Dr Crippen being smug...