I recently visited Liverpool in order to photograph some of the architecture for my photography project. Whilst I was there I entered the Museum of Liverpool and reviewed the works that were on show. There was also an exhibition featured in the upstairs space of the Museum. The exhibition was titled ‘L8Unseen’, it focused on the stories and experiences of a diverse range of people from a community in Liverpool.
The exhibition revealed parts of the Liverpool area, thus evidencing historical culture. The exhibition consisted of large scale photographs that impacted the viewer as they entered the exhibition space. I found the layout of this exhibition interesting and fairly dynamic, as video and moving images were also part of the exhibition. The moving images were in fact interviews with the people in the portraits, they discussed their occupation, their experiences and the basics of their life. The photographs featured in this exhibition were the work of the renowned photographer Othello De’Souza-Hartley.
I am really glad that I was able to see this exhibition, as the logistics of it are something that I want to replicate for my final degree show. I am interested in Architecture and was planning to print on a large scale, I also want to experiment with moving image for part of my degree show. Therefore it was a good experience to be able to see both of these techniques implemented in an exhibition setting.
The photographs in this exhibition were all captured in buildings and places that were of a special significance to the Liverpool L8 community. The Liverpool L8 refers to the postcode area of the Liverpool sections. This idea of photographing people in an area or a building that is significant to them, also links to the ideas that I have focused on in my photography project. As I too are looking at the notion of place and environment, in regards to architecture and the significant memories or emotional attachments we feel to a ‘Specific Place’.
This exhibition has inspired me to seriously consider printing on large scale, as I somewhat overwhelmed by the quality of the images here. I also enjoyed the moving image pieces so I may look into ways of displaying a video piece as part of my final degree show. I have included a selection of the photographs from the L8Unseen exhibition above in a gallery format when selected.
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