Exhibition Visit:Futureland Now - Reflections on the post-industrial landscape, Laing Gallery, Newcastle.

This exhibition of photography by John Kippin and Chris Wainwright addresses issues in our current society through their large scale photographic landscapes which explore this post-industrial period of uncertainty and change.

In 1989 the Laing Gallery hosted Futureland. It was timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the birth of photography and employed innovative photographic methods of representation to reflect upon the landscape of social change in the North East.
Nationwide comparisons have been drawn between 1980s Britain and the current political and economic climate.  Bleak employment prospects caused by world recession have created uncertainty as governments wrestle with debt and instability.  As previously, this shift is felt in the North of England.
Futureland Now draws on the artistic tradition of the sublime, presented here as an awe-inspiring response to the current post-industrial period of social and economic uncertainty.  The exhibition includes some examples and reworkings from Futureland alongside new work made at the original locations, demonstrating the artists' individual engagement with places, histories, and contemporary circumstances.

There is much interesting work in this exhibition, some I enjoyed, some I didn't and some I couldn't understand.  I felt that in order to understand the reasoning behind some of the images there needed to be a commentary rather than just a title.  On the other hand, by not providing a commentary, perhaps the idea was that the viewer should put his or her own interpretation on the image.

The above image is one I find difficult to interpret. Entitled 'Error', it is part of a series by Chris Wainwright all longexposures of people with light sticks.  They remind me of the personnel at an airport guiding a plane onto its standing or possibly semaphore symbols.  If they are semphores, perhaps they hold a hidden message that we need to translate.

Some of the images such as this one entitled 'When the Boat Comes In' also include the printed word, in this case in Japanese, although even when in English the meaning was not obvious.  This technique of including words in an image was also esposed by Niall Benvie in the May 2012 edition of Outdoor Photography as a means of imparting a further meaning to the viewer and perhaps using the image in a social commentary context.  Althogh I cannot understand the Japanese in this image I do like the photograph.  It appears to have been taken in the 'golden hour' at the beginning or end of the day and I love both the lighting and the sky.  For me there is some tension in the image as the ship is nearly sailing 'out of the shot'.

I really liked this image by John Kippin, called Moonrise over Teeside.  There is a beautiful reflection in the water and the wet sand with the moon appearing quite high in the sky in front of us.  Interestingly the horizon cuts the image in half.  As this is an exercise in social commentary perhaps the nightime isolation places the jobseeker at a distance from the hub of industry on the horizon.  Or maybe we are meant to see a contrast of the beauty of nature with the desolation of industry.

This image is called Nostalgia For The Future and is another one that includes the written word.  It is a location that John Kippin visited in 1988 and 2012 but we are not told which year this image was taken.  Does Nostalgia for the future harke to a better or worse future?  Both the ship and the caravan are from the past, but perhaps on the caravan is nostalgic.  Are we looking to a future with more leisure or less work or no oil if this a wrecked tanker, or again more pollution.  Are we looking back at a better of worse past.  Much food for thought here and at the same time a beautifully executed image.  I wonder what the people on the beach are looking at and thinking.

I particularly enjoyed some long exposure night shots by Chris Wainwright that included star trails and light trails from shipping.  My favourite was 'Submarine Territory' taken in 1996 and was taken in a Scottish Sea Loch (Faslane?).  It has wonderful star tails and a rich blue sky.  Are we meant to mourne the passing of our shipbuilding industry and naval supremacy?

Another image I really enjoyed is 'Hidden' by John Kippin.  It features two lighning aircraft on a nearby moorland firing range.  The planes have been used as target practice.  Theere is a wonderful sky and great depth of field.  Kippin visited this location in 1988 and 2012 but there is no indication which year the image was taken.  Is it meant to focus on the futility of war or our dwindling armed forces and therefore further lack of jobs.

What have I learned from this exhibition.
Although making a social commentary with my images is not currently at the top of my list of priorities I have come to realise that landscape photography can be a vehicle for this.  And not only that but these two photographers have produced some beautiful images but with a message.  In my experience photographs that attempt to convey a social comment often protray the ugly and do not appeal to me.  I have also had the opportunity to reflect on the article written by Niall Benvie about using the written word in conjunction with photographs to convey a message.  All food for thought.