London Photography, 2003 in Review
As its first ever major photo exhibition, the Tate Modern this year staged Cruel and Tender, themed on ÔøΩthe real in the twentieth-century photographÔøΩ. A massive exhibition, more than 700 prints of ÔøΩquiet documentationÔøΩ rather than ÔøΩdramatised scenariosÔøΩ were intended to invoke both ÔøΩengagement and estrangementÔøΩ in the viewer. In fact, it was far less coherent than billed. Who could describe Philip-Lorca diCorciaÔøΩs theatrically lit street shots and Andreas GurskyÔøΩs huge prints as ÔøΩquiet documentationÔøΩ? Still, thanks to Winogrand, Arbus, Frank, Evans, Friedlander, Eggleston, and Parr it was the standout show of the year.
At the other end of the scale, the Serpentine Gallery exhibited Hiroshi Sugimoto. With his long-exposure photographs of the open ocean (composed with the horizon perfectly bisecting the image), his exposure of a candle burning into nothingness, and his cold people-free exposures of movie theatres, Sugimoto single-handedly showed us photographyÔøΩs tender cruelty in a coherent way that the Tate Modern exhibition did not. The zen-like surroundings of the Serpentine were perfectly suited to Sugimoto’s style of photography.
The National Portrait GalleryÔøΩs retrospective of Julia Margaret Cameron was the surprise of the year. Cameron (at the age of 48) took up photography shortly after its invention, but the portraits she produced look as if they could have been made yesterday. The Tate Britain exhibited Wolfgang Tillmans. Though famous for photographs which are intended to shock (he won the Turner Prize in 2000), I found those the most banal of his otherwise poignant images of everyday life. And the Barbican dedicated a large show to the photographs of Sebastio Salgado. The Barbican has been a great place to view photography (highlight: the Martin Parr show last year), I hope when it re-opens in 2004 after a long renovation that it will be just as good.
The Photographers’ Gallery continued to the show strong, quirky, interesting exhibits that it is known for. I visited several times to witness the strangely beautiful accident-chaser photographs of Enrique Metinides. Kyoichi Tsuzuki’s portraits of fashion addicts in Japan made us question the stereotype we have of the Japanese aethetic. Walker Evans’ Polaroids and Frank BreuerÔøΩs urban landscape photographs were also noteworthy. As was the case the year before, the Citibank Prize 2003 was forgettable. Simon Norfolk’s pictures of war-torn Afghanistan were beautiful, for better or worse. Stephen GillÔøΩs The Wick showed what London is like away from the tourists. Located near Leicester Square, with one of the best photography bookshops in London, a cafe, and a public sale gallery, the Photographers Gallery is the place to visit if you are in London for only a short time.