All posts tagged: Photographers Gallery

Pentti Sammallahti: ‘Here, far away’ @ Photographers’ Gallery

To some, his name appears to be as inexpressible as the delicate beauty of his works. Despite a fairly challenging pronunciation, the Finnish photographer Pennti Sammallahti is in fact a pioneer, innovator and globetrotter that inspired many of his peers over the last four decades. On his fascinating journeys through the icy Scandinavian scenery, the chequered vegetation of Siberia, Japan, India, Nepal and large parts of the African continent, his panoramic camera followed him at every turn. The result is an intriguing exploration of relationships between humans, animals and nature amidst the remote, forlorn and staggeringly beautiful regions of the world. Meditative and humorous at times, his b/w snaps generate a feeling of Wanderlust, an urge to merely take along one’s dearest things and leave everything else behind, renouncing modern technology, social obligations and rules for a life in the pristine wilderness. And to get you even further into a daydreaming mood, London’s Photographers’ Gallery celebrates a retrospective of Sammallahti’s works in its small ‘Here, far away’ print sales show, which still runs until 5th January …

Jacques Henri Lartigue: ‘Bibi’ @ Photographers Gallery

Clad in a white fur coat and an elegant dress, her boat drifting toward the harbour of Cannes, Madeleine Messager is in the photographer’s undivided centre of attention. With her tilted head and shadowy eyes she glances mysteriously at her husband behind the lens. It’s the work of influential photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue and only one of many snapshots depicting his beloved first wife ‘Bibi’ in the 1920s. Actually, Lartigue was a gifted collector. A collector of moments, if you will: « Photography to me is catching a moment which is passing, and which is true. » Since the early age of 8, when his technophile father gave him his first camera, he captured and eventually eternalised his impressions on film. Almost 10,000 photographs and 7,000 diary pages bear witness to an incredible photographic timeline, spanning over eight decades of his lively journey: Moments of joy and adventure, expressions of friendship and love as well as manifestations of desire and sorrow. For its current major exhibition, ‘The Photographers’ Gallery’ draws its attention back to Lartigue’s early works and documents …