Life Framer Exhibition April 2014

I went to the Life Framer exhibition for Edition One showcase in April this year.  The exhibition featured a stunning entry receiving an Honorable Mention by fellow Crossing Lines member Raki Nikahetiya showing Tower Bridge in the fog, so it was great to see this hanging having discussed this ethereal perspective at Crossing Lines.  Seeing work in public by people I've met or know gives me a lot of hope and inspiration that I might be up there one day!

This was the first time I'd seen or heard of Life Framer, so it was interesting to see an amateur platform that I might be able to get involved in one day (if it continues).  The past year had seen a different aspect of "Life" each month, and this exhibition was a retrospective of the winners and a selection of the honorary mentions.  Of course, the quality of the entries was amazing and some very interesting subject matters, but the curation of the exhibition was strange.  The entries were mounted over four walls, but it was not clear if they were grouped by theme. In addition, for the Honorable Mentions, it was not clear which theme they had entered.  Moreover, the entries were not marked by photographer or title, you had to refer to the guide for the photographer, and then go to the internet to find the title of the image and background about the photographer.  That was disappointing.

Typically with exhibitions, I note an image that has made a difference to me, either from its wow factor, shown me something new, expanded my knowledge or added to my repertoire of influences.  In this case, it was "The Tartan Army" by Sven Loach.  I hadn't seen any of Loach's work before, and this picture really stood out.  It shows Scottish supporters before a friendly at Trafalgar Square.  Apart from the obvious humour, it's a clearly well constructed example of street photography/journalism.  Central composition, with horizontal layers, the comical subject matter replicated by a play on words with Nelson's column, the chaos above and below the base (chaos before the match), and only a couple of people are looking at the lens (and they look confused!).  Very funny.