The Strange and Familiar Evolution of Photography
A postcard of Britain like you have never seen before, Strange and Familiar presents an outsider’s view of British life that opens a window into the forgotten past of a colourful nation. Curated by Martin Parr, a photographer who has spent over forty years training his eye to capture the eccentricities of British culture, the exhibition is an accumulation of images documenting wanderings around Britain through a foreign lens. From images of the coronation of King George VI to isolated villages in Wales, Strange and Familiar has a sense of curiosity at its core. As you move through each room, absorbing the lines of three old women peering into a car window and the hedonist photos of British youth awash with a flash of mini skirts, you can’t help feeling moved by the uncensored view of British life.
The work of 23 photographers is displayed, all who arrived on British shores from elsewhere, capturing the changing culture through the eyes of a traveller entering the country as a stranger. There is an instant affinity felt as I view the tensions, smiles and ordinary occurrences of a country that has been my home for as long as I can remember, picturing my own family past and present. The images on display ooze a sense charm showing the resilience of communities alongside the politically charged undercurrents of the nation.
The connection between photographer and camera appears effortless as the regional charm of Britain is displayed, capturing the diversity of the nation alongside the radical reforming social agenda. Henri Cartier-Bresson’s reactionary images from King George VI’s coronation illustrate his mastery of candid photography transporting you into a scene of joyful patriotism. But the real beauty of Bresson’s work is the subjects themselves. I could not help cracking a smile at the old man dressed in his Sunday best sat on a bench in the pouring rain undeterred but the weather using his newspaper as a rain hat, a character that epitomises the British spirit.
The colour prints from Japanese photographer Akihiko Okamura appear even more intense amongst the black and white. The subdued colour images document the troubles in Northern Ireland, by intermingling ordinary objects with sudden flashes of violence to portray the deep impact the IRA had on communities in Londonderry.
The exhibition moves through a plethora of styles breaking from conventional photography techniques with the experimental framing used by Chilean photographer Sergio Larrain. As he uses double exposure to create surreal blurry scenes enveloped in a hazy mist, with the resulting images producing an intriguingly eerie quality to them. This modernist style is also used by Shinro Ohtake who captured his wanderings of the UK all on his second hand Nikon camera, with his stream of consciousness spilling out across the collage of images presented.
Strange and Familiar is a mesmerising celebration of British life along with all its flaws and misdemeanours. Featuring the social unrest of a nation in flux that defined our history, alongside the people that held communities together by carrying on with everyday life in the face adversity. A truly heart-warming exhibition chronicling the changing faces of Britain.
Strange and Familiar: Britain as Revealed by International Photographers runs until 9 June 2016 at The Barbican, London
Jessica Rayner
