A way of seeing

In yesterday's Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones dismisses photography as "not art", while - to our relief - Sean O'Hagan argues against this idea. Go and have a look for yourselves (warning: the first article is extremely annoying).

So "photography will never be art" vs "If anything is anachronistic, it’s the “photography is not art” debate"

It's a bit sad this debate is still around in 2014...

Dear all,

while we're working to make our gallery project happen, we'd like to post some links to other projects that we think are interesting and worth supporting.

For a start, The Boat Studio, an initiative to turn a canal boat in Cardiff into a residential space for artists, film makers and musicians. We think it's a great idea! They only have 6 days left for their fund-raising campaign - so go and support if you can. You can also find them here.

Evening!

We're happy to say that today we finally found space for what may become fine-art photo galleries in the Valleys! If all goes well, we'll open two of them in a year, starting next spring.

Keep your fingers crossed for us and wait for updates.

Meanwhile, we hope that we, as the*kickplate*project, or individually, will have some more news for you soon.

Dear all,

"waiting list", featuring Melih Dönmezer, Sophie Berdzenishvili and Denis Kravets, will be up in Roath Park Pub a bit longer, till Saturday the 1st of November, so head to City Road in Roath if you haven't seen it yet (and ask the owners to turn the lights on for you if it's too dark). 

And also, Dafydd's "roath" (portraits of older inhabitants of Roath printed onto the wall) is open in The Abacus till Thursday the 30th of October, so make sure to see it before it goes!

photos from the openings

Hi all,

We have some photos to share with you from the openings of Zosia's "waiting list", (featuring Melih Dönmezer, Sophie Berdzenishvili and Denis Kravets) and Dafydd's "roath".

First up was "waiting list" which opened in the Roath Park Pub on Wednesday night:

and then on Thursday Dafydd opened "roath" in The Abacus gallery:

 Made in Roath will run until Wednesday the 22nd of Oct across venues in Roath, Cardiff 

"roath" will be open until the 30th of Oct at The Abacus

"waiting list": installation

"waiting list" opened last Wednesday in the wonderfully old-fashioned private room of Roath Park Pub (170 City Road, Cardiff) as part of Made in Roath.

a big thanks to the organisers for making it happen - we had a great time!

the exhibition is open till the 22nd of October and you can see it every day from around noon till 11pm. 

for now, here are a few photos from the installation and the pub's interior. later on, we'll also post some photos from the opening.

 

PS if the lights in the room are off, ask Kim behind the bar to turn them on for you!

"roath" by Dafydd Williams

Apart from 'waiting list', there's another exhibition included in Made in Roath 

that we'd like to tell you about:

***

roath is a collection of portraits taken on the streets of Roath using a homemade field camera.

The models in the photos are the residents of Roath: people who have lived there for the majority of their lives, and who therefore feel a strong bond with the district. They are both “made in” and “make” Roath, and I hope to capture the spirit and diversity of the place through the faces of those who inhabit it.

As part of the exhibition, and rather than printing the images and then bring them to the gallery, the gallery space will itself become part of the printing process. It will be turned into a darkroom and, using liquid photo emulsion, the walls will be turned into prints. The images will be contact printed directly onto the gallery and developed there in situ.

The space, with all its own quirks and faults, will then become part of the exhibition rather than simply a hanging, or presentation space. For me as an artist, it’s an opportunity to experiment with the concepts of curating and presenting a photographic exhibition.

*** 

roath is opening on Thursday at 7 in The Abacus 

 St David’s House, CF10 1ER

Thu 16^th – Fri 30^th Oct

Mon-Sat 11–7, Sun 12–5

http://dafyddwilliams.weebly.com/

"waiting list": introducing Melih Dönmezer

Melih Dönmezer is a Turkish photographer based in Eskisehir.

In his work, Melih uses a variety of techniques to manipulate his images. He mixes analogue and digital cameras (his favourite ones being Wizen SM111and Zenit ET) and postproduction tools, such as overlaying images with scanned paper.

He creates a distinctive imagery, often erasing or obscuring the faces of the characters in his photographs, which along with off-kilter composition or dream-like, foggy landscapes and unusual close-ups, give his images a slightly ominous and mysterious atmosphere. 

Melih’s images, whether static or dynamic, are intense, with a grainy feel, high contrast and multiple layers that engage the viewer and force us to look closer.

You can see Melih photos on his page and on Flickr.

 

"waiting list": introducing Sophie Berdzenishvili

Sophie Berdzenishvili is a Georgian photographer living in Tbilisi.

In her photography, Sophie analyses the representation of the female body, and through the minimalist, striking and often surreal setting of her images, she captures social, cultural, political and religious entrapment of women, their identity, and their liberation. 

Her photography challenges and subverts stereotypical positioning of female models in art and reflects the universal feminist questions. 

Sophie creates her images as a dialogue with the society and with herself: “(...) photography is a therapy; it helps me get to know myself better. Everything I do is a self portrait, my photos are a reflection of my mood, emotions and the world I live in (...).”

You can see Sophie’s photos on her page and in her portfolio.

"waiting list": introducing Denis Kravets

 

Denis Kravets was born in 1990 in Ukraine and he lives and works in Kiev.

As an artist, he uses a variety of techniques: analogue photography, drawing, mixed media, collage and video. 

A large part of Denis’s work are ambrotypes - positive images created on glass through the wet collodion process. 

In his work, Denis illustrates the motives of body image, gender representations and aestheticism, also exploring the relation between the human and nature. 

Drawing on the motives of 19^th century photographic and illustrative imagery, as well as the aesthetics of fashion and cinema, he reinvents old conventions and creates his own sets of symbols.

You can find more of Denis’s work in his portfolio and read about him on the page of Ukrainian Photographic Alternative.