This was OCA Midlands inaugural event organised by Allan O’Neill. Firstly, I’d like to thank Allan for his determination at getting this regional group off the ground. After several attempts previously and personal challenges, his enthusiasm and effort to see the formation of a lens-based Midlands group must be applauded. Thank you Allan, I look forward to many more events.
The Blast! Festival is a series of events and exhibitions taking place in Sandwell’s six district towns. Featuring the work of 40 photographers, artists and curators; the aim of the festival was to be inclusive with the local population, to work with communities and to highlight exceptional stories about everyday life. The events were organised under the auspices of a local organisation called MultiStory, who work with local residents, artists, photographers, writers and filmmakers and have developed an archive of work over the last nine years called The MuliStory Collection. Previous collaborators have included the likes of Martin Parr, Susan Meiselas, David Goldblatt and Margaret Drabble. They are a registered charity working with a range of partners from the arts, media, education and local councils.
We started our day off at a venue called The Vine in West Bromwich with our host for the day, a local photographer, Stephen Burke. Stephen’s exhibition ‘The Lord’s My Shepard’ was being shown there. The exhibition features portraits of West Bromwich Albion supporters in matchday regalia, against plain, coloured backgrounds, representative of the club’s home and away football colours and was shot in a pop-up studio either at the Vine or near the ground itself. The work aims to show the emotional connection that the club has with the fans and the identity of West Bromwich. Alongside the photography Stephen collected interviews with the fans and also recorded the noise of the collective mass of supporters at the ground, whether in song or nervous anxiety or spontaneous joy. After viewing the exhibition and a break for food we were given an engaging talk by Stephen. During his talk he explained his journey through his BA and MA at Falmouth and Westminster respectively, stating that when he was making his early portraits he would barely engage with his subjects other than to ask whether he could take their picture, admitting that he regrets this approach now and that he wished he had taken contact details at the very least. Explaining that he is mainly concerned with the framework of identity and place, his early projects such as Longbridge Public Art Project and Built to Last: Austin Village at 100 exemplify this approach. I was particularly interested in his work around the car manufacturing industry in Birmingham as I have family history connected to the Land Rover car plant in Solihull, and further back (1750’s), ties to the armaments trade, all of which I’d like to explore sometime, maybe as my year three project (a long way off yet!). Explaining his approach to the fan portraits it was interesting to hear of the communication of respect and that he’s not overbearing with direction, rather letting his sitters be in the moment, although he did admit to having to find a way of working around extraneous distractions from time to time. The project was also a collaboration with several identity strands within the supporter network; such as the LGBTQ+ and Polish communities. MultiStory commissioned the project after Stephen submitted a successful application and gave him a time scale of 18 months, which he said he was thankful of because it gave him a greater chance to develop the project. I think that most of us students found Stephen thoroughly engaging and generous with his time and insights.
Next, we headed to The British Muslim School for a series of exhibitions under the banner Girl Gaze. The works were an exploration of identity in relation to the Punjab and the diaspora communities scattered through the Black Country, communicated through the voices of young girls and women, exploring themes such as; gender, tradition, place, culture and belonging, which affect the lives of women in both countries. The artists featured were Jocelyn Allen, Jennifer Pattison, Andrea Fernandes, Uzma Mohsin and also a multi-media display by Dawinder Bansal who explored the liberation that Asian women attained when passing their car tests. My favourite work was Rice Pudding Moon & The River of Dreams by Jennifer Pattison. There was something very dream like about the work, not surprising as she often uses stories of imagined worlds as a creative springboard. The inspiration for the series were Punjab loris, a style of song sung by the Bazigar communities and lullabies that became popularised by Bollywood. The work relates to Jennifer’s own feelings towards her daughter and the songs she sings to her, but also to a curiosity of how lullabies are passed down from generation to generation and how these songs connect the two communities in Patiala and the West Midlands.
On the way to our next collection of works at the old Poundland we passed by the now familiar street portraits on Niall McDiarmid. His sometimes garishly colourful imagery shows off the multi-cultural aspects of the area and were exhibited in the many Metro stops along the High Street. I have to admit that I found our last venue at Poundland a little overbearing; there was just too much imagery crammed into one place and at times it felt thrown together, there seemed not enough room between the works to enable them to breathe or me, at times it felt like a visual migraine. The two successful works here had the lion’s share of the space and were presented with plenty of room to flow peacefully, both featuring work made within the Polish communities. Czeslaw Siegieda documented from 1970 until the 80’s, shooting in black and white and capturing a wide variety of the displaced community, including; daily home life, religious festivals, remembrance, funerals and commemoration. Jon Tonks work was made in the period post Brexit and tackles subjects such as cultural identity, hopes and fears of the community in a highly charged political environment. Shot in colour and with a contemporary aesthetic, I feel more drawn to Jon’s work, but, and it’s a big but, I question who has the greater authority, an insider or an outsider? This is a question I’m about to tackle in my next piece of coursework. Czeslaw’s work has a feel of greater authenticity about it, the black and white images match the timeframe of when they were made, leaving me feeling immersed in the frame, as though I’m integrating with his subjects. Although I like the vibrancy and aesthetic of Jon’s images there is a sense of detachment, a slightly voyeuristic feel to them and definitely a sense of them having undergone direction from the photographer.
The last work that we were able to view was made by Nilupa Yasmin. The work was made in and around the markets of Sandwell, featuring the many cultural backgrounds present there. Nilupa then weaves her images together, creating colourful patterned work that is reflective of the people and products that are for sale. Coming from a more traditional standpoint, as in, the presentation of work, I’ve become more engaged with differing approaches to presentation since embarking on the course, so hats off to the OCA for opening my eyes to a wider range of artistic endeavours.
We capped the day off with a final Q&A with Stephen in a local coffee shop, where he gave insights regarding entering into the world of professional commissioned photography. I’m sure that we would’ve grilled him into the night if allowed. All in all, this was a very rewarding study day and I’m feeling very upbeat with the thoughts of more regional get togethers.
Illustrations
Authors own
Bibliography
Blast!. (2019). Blast!. [online] Available at: https://www.blastphotofestival.com [Accessed 1 Jul. 2019].
Multistory.org.uk. (2019). About. [online] Available at: https://multistory.org.uk/about/ [Accessed 1 Jul. 2019].
Stephen Burke. (2019). The Lord’s My Shepherd — Stephen Burke. [online] Available at: http://stephenpburke.com/the-lords-my-shepherd [Accessed 1 Jul. 2019].
Jon Tonks. (2019). Stories of Home – Jon Tonks. [online] Available at: https://www.jontonks.com/work/stories-of-home/ [Accessed 1 Jul. 2019].
Czeslawsiegieda.com. (2019). Czesław Siegieda Documentary Photographer. [online] Available at: https://czeslawsiegieda.com [Accessed 1 Jul. 2019].
Context and Narrative 